Dancing with Fire
by Akikofuma
Summary: MeggiexDustfinger . I suck ass at summaries, so you are just going to have to read it. It's a story I came up with one night.
1. Chapter 1

1**Chapter 1 **

_Piercing blue eyes, framed by golden hair. Thin lips forming a hint of a smile. Slender, long fingers... such unique beauty... how good would it feel to kiss those lips, to feel those fingers against my skin...so perfect it was hard to take._

"Meggie!"

"Huh?" a sudden voice woke me from my daydreaming, pulling me back into reality, like gravitation pulling a falling apple to the ground.

"You were daydreaming again." my friend gave me a small smile.

"Sorry Alice... what did you say?" I asked, honestly sorry for not listening to her. Alice was my best friend, and I cared for her very much. She had always been there for me, when Farid had left me. When he found a new girl he loved. When I fell and hurt my arm. Alice had always been there, every day, every night, 24/7, only a phone call away.

"You are hopeless. Take this mor serious!" Alice said, slightly pouting, but I knew she was just playing.

"I'm really sorry Alice." I repeated, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear. "Please, say it again?"

"I asked you if you already have your dress for the prom. It's only two week away you know?"

Oh right. The prom. It was all Alice could talk about right now. What every girl talked, thought and dreamt about. Every girl except me.

"Yes, I got it yesterday. You wanna come over and see?" I asked, while I placed my pencil case and my math book into my backpack. Finally, school was over and I could go home. It was a Friday, the only day of the week I couldn't wait to come home. The day I daydreamed more then any other day. My favorite day in the week.

"Sure!" Alice beamed at me. "I got mine two days ago, should I bring it over?"

"Of course. I want to see it." I answered, shouldering my backpack and standing up from the chair I had been sitting on for nearly two hours now. I hated math, hated it with a passion, but every Friday I had to sit through two hours of mind-blowing boredom.

"Okay, great." Alice didn't even have to ask what time she should come. She was welcome at every time, night or day. My family loved her, especially Mo because she had been there for me when Farid hat broken up with me, and all my other friends hat let me down. It was partially my fault, I had drawn back from everything and everybody. But Alice didn't give up. She went the whole way with me, from crying all night, to slowly getting better.

"And you're going with Bryan, right?" she asked, and I gave a slight nod.

Bryan was a boy from my class, who had always had a crush on me. He was a nice boy, handsome... and when he had asked me to the prom, I didn't even hesitate. He **was** really nice, and the person I liked... well, he would never have gone to the prom with me. Not even in my wildest dreams.

"You know who he reminds me of?" she said, walking next to me as we walked through the corridor of the school, toward the exit.

"No. Who?" I asked, opening the door, slightly blinking at the bright sunshine.

"That man that always comes to your house on the weekends... what was his name again?"

"Dustfinger. It's Dustfinger." I replied, flinching slightly. "And he look's nothing like him."

Sure, Bryan had wavy blond hair and blue eye's too, but he wasn't nearly as good looking as Dustfinger. Not nearly as beautiful or elegant. There way no way the two could be compared.

"Right. It's such a strange name. I can't really believe that it's his real name. Maybe it's just a nickname, and he doesn't want to tell you his real name?"

"We've been over this Alice. It's his name." Alice just shrugged.

"Anyway, he totally reminds me of him. Maybe it's just because I don't see the guy that often. He only comes on the weekend's right?"

I nodded, searching the street for Mo's car. The school wasn't far away from my home, walking distance, but Mo always picked me up. He was scared that something could happen to me on my way home. Alice lived only a few street's away from the school, and walked over to my place, or rode her bike. Whenever she walked, Mo would drive her home.

"Isn't it a little strange?" she asked, and I turned my head to look at her.

"He work's a lot. So he doesn't come by on weekdays." I explained, patiently smiling at her. We had the same conversation every Friday. Well almost the same. It normally didn't involve Bryan.

I looked back to the street, and then checked my watch. Mo was late. Mo was never late. Had something happened.

"Oh look, there he is!" Alice suddenly said, her voice a mixture of excitement and wonder.

"What?" my gave snapped to the direction she was pointing out, and really, there he was, smiling at me.

Alice spoke the words that were in my head.

"What's he doing here?" she asked, looking at me as if I knew the answer to her question.

"I honestly don't know." I answered, quickly walking toward the man. Alice followed me. I was scared and worried. Had something happened to Mo and my mom? Why was he here?

"Dustfinger, why are you here?" I asked as I came to a stop right in front of him, Alice standing right next to me.

"What, you're not happy to see me princess?" he asked, grinning at me a little. He still called me princess, even though I was 17 now. Sometimes I hated it... and sometimes I loved it.

"Of course I'm happy to see you." I answered impatiently. "But where's Mo? Did something happen?"

Dustfinger shook his head. "No. He was just really busy working, and couldn't reach you. He asked me to pick you up. You know he's scared to let you walk home alone. So here I am."

"Oh... okay. Thank you." I said, feeling a little relieved that nothing was wrong. "I'll see you later then, okay Alice?"

I turned to my friend who was practically staring at Dustfinger as if he was an alien or some kind of rare animal. He had that affect on most of the people. Probably because his worn coat and the old bag he carried around gave him something mysterious.

"Uh... Yeah." was all she answered, smiling at me and giving me a hug goodbye. "I'll be over soon." and with that she left.

"Okay, let's go." I said, glancing at Dustfinger. I wanted to start walking, when another voice called my name.

"Meggie, wait!" Bryan called, running towards me.

"What's wrong Bryan?" I asked as soon as he stopped in front of me. I didn't know why, but it felt weird with both of them here. I wanted Bryan to leave quickly, or leave myself.

"I just wanted to ask you, when I should pick you up." he said, smiling at me. Bryan always smiled at me, and it always made me feel a little... out of place. I knew it was foolish, but I couldn't help the feeling.

"I really don't know yet. I'll give you a call today, as soon as I know okay?" The truth was that I did know when I wanted him to pick me up, but right now it didn't matter. I wanted to leave as fast as I could, and take Dustfinger with me. The older man was looking at Bryan, examining him maybe. I felt my stomach twist.

"I gotta go. I'll call you. Bye Bryan." I said, turned around and walked away. I knew Dustfinger would follow me, soundless like a shadow.

We walked in silence for a while, then Dustfinger finally asked the question I had feared.

"Pick you up for what?"

"The prom. It's a ball for the students who graduated." I explained. "You go as a couple, dance and listen to a speech and stuff."

"As a couple? So, he's your new boyfriend?" he asked, not even looking at me. He barely looked at me. A fact I really hated.

"No. He like's me, and since I don't have anyone else to go with I said yes. We're going as friends, and he knows that." I shrugged.

"It seems to be a big deal. Everyone who passed me was talking about it." he shoot me a quick look from the corner of his eyes. "Can you dance?"

Ouch. He had hit a sensitive spot.

"Well... no. I can't." I admitted. "I'm practicing though. Alice know's how to dance, and she's teaching me. I don't really get the hang of it yet, but I'm improving."

Admitting that I couldn't dance to Dustfinger was far worse then to anyone else. Alone by the way he moved when he preformed she could tell that he could dance. It was part of his life, after all. Dancing with fire.

"That's good." was all he said in reply. He didn't talk to me much, he never had. He had always been more of a quiet person. It was something I had accepted long ago, and now treasured the silence between us, that was never awkward, but calming.

We walked close to each other, so close that for a second his hand brushed against mine. It felt like a bolt of lightning chased through my body and I was so surprised that my breath stopped for a second.

_Don't be stupid Meggie._ I told myself. _You're being childish. He has touched you a million times. When did you start getting all nervous about it? Only because you like him doesn't mean anything has changed._

I quickly focused on something else. Thinking of him would only make things worse, and it was bad enough that every time he touched me, my skin felt like it was on fire.

The rest of the way we walked in silence, until we finally got home. Mo had bought a nice house in a small town after Mom had returned. Elinor and Darius still lived in Italy, but they visited on occasions. Farid had also moved to their place, because his new girlfriend lived in the little village only a few miles away.

Dustfinger opened the door for me, giving me his crooked smile, and I quickly walked pass him. Whenever he smiled at me like that I couldn't do anything but blush. It was like a curse. I didn't want him to find out about the crush I had on him.

_Is it really just a crush?_ I suddenly asked myself, as I threw my backpack into my bedroom. Resa had cooked, and the minute the scent of the delicious warm food had reached my nose, I realized how hungry I was.

It only took me a few minutes to walk into the diningroom and sit down. Resa was already sitting, and so was Dustfinger. I took a seat next to my mom, and soon Mo entered the room, sitting down next to Dustfinger.

"Sorry I couldn't pick you up Meggie." he apologized, but I just smiled.

"It's okay dad. Let's eat." I started passing around the food. Resa had made spaghetti with tomato sauce, one of my favorites. Lunch was over soon, and I went to my room after putting away my plate in the dishwasher.

I didn't have much homework to do, and as soon as I was done, the doorbell rang.

"Meggie?" Alice called. Sometimes it was scary how good her timing was, and I often wondered if she bugged my house.

"Upstairs." I answered, and only seconds later Alice stood in my room, giving me a quick huge and placing her dress that was wrapped in some protective material on my bed.

"So, show me your dress." she grinned widely at me, nosy as always.

"Calm down Alice. You might explode from all the excitement." I said, and she just laughed.

"Well, then hurry or you might have to clean up the mess." she answered, and I went to my closet, walking extra slow to annoy Alice. It earned me a pillow thrown straight at my head.

"Oh come on! My_ grandma _walks faster."

I just rolled my eyes, and then pulled out the dress. It was a long white neck holder dress, made of silk, and backless. I turned around and Alice just gasped.

"Oh _Meggie_, it's beautiful!" she said, quickly getting off the bed and walking over to touch it. "It must have cost a fortune!" She was clearly impressed.

"No, it didn't cost anything. My mom wore it to her prom, and gave it to me." I carefully put the dress back, and then said. "Okay, so now show me yours. And after that we can practice dancing."

"Okay. Mine isn't as classy as yours..." she quickly pulled the dress out and showed it to me. It was a short strapless dress, about knee long, embroidered with little red flowers.

"It's beautiful Alice." I said. It wasn't beautiful in a classy, but in a cute way, and I thought it matched Alice perfectly. "You are going to look great." Alice was so easily pleased.

"Thanks. Okay, so let's practice some more." she quickly put back her dress and then walked to the living room with me. There was just more room and the Hi-fi unite was better. I turned it on, and the music started to play.

The first dance was a classic waltz, and I hated it. I couldn't get the hang of it, no matter how hard I tried. But Alice didn't give up on me, and so I didn't give up either.

After 30 minutes I was so frustrated that I just sat down on the couch and took a deep breath.

"It's hopeless." I said, looking at Alice who sat down next to me. "I'm never going to be able to dance this stupid dance. I don't want to be able anyway."

"It's not hopeless." Alice quickly said. "Come on, let's try it one more time. I'm sure you'll do better."

"I don't want to." I knew I was acting like a little child but I couldn't help it. "I'll just stand still and let Bryan dance."

"I don't think Bryan would like that." the voice made me and Alice both jump. I quickly turned my head to the door, and there he stood, leaning against the door frame, an apple in his hand. He had already eaten a piece, but put it down on the commode.

Alice looked at him and then at me, silently asking where he had come from, and what he was doing. I would have to explain to her later that Dustfinger seemed to have the ability to just appear out of thin air.

"I don't care." I answered, not looking at him directly. My voice sounded high and childish, and I could have hit myself for being such a immature brat.

Dustfinger walked towards me, and then took off his coat. He always wore it, even in the house, and that he took it off now surprised me. The only other time he ever took it off was when he was doing a show... so why now?

Underneath the coat he wore a simple black shirt, not the usual white one.

"Come here." he said, holding out a hand to me. I looked at him for a few seconds, trying to find out what he wanted to do. But then I realized. He wanted to dance with me.

"I don't think so." I quickly answered, shaking my head. There was no way I was doing this. It was bad enough he knew I was to clumsy to dance. I wasn't about to show him, and step on his feet to prove my point.

"It's not that hard Meggie." he said, smiling at me. "I'm sure your friend will demonstrate it to you?" he looked at Alice.

I had seen Alice drool over men thousands of time's, she wasn't picky. As long as they looked good and were well built, they were okay for Alice. But the expression on her face made my chest clench with jealousy. She liked him, liked him _a lot. _I had never wanted to hurt her, but right now I felt like giving her a good smack to the head and yelling "_Stop looking at him like that, you can't have him!"_ Of course I didn't.

"Uh sure!" Alice quickly got up, clearly over the shock of being asked to dance, and took his hand. It made me sick so see how she was ogling him. Dustfinger pulled her closer, one hand holding her's, the other on her waist.

"Meggie, the music please?" he asked, and I got up and pressed the play button. Watching them dance felt like torture. They moved perfectly, every step and turn looking graceful and elegant, just the way it should be.

Dustfinger was looking straight into Alice's eyes, and I knew that my best friend was absolutely thrilled. The scar's didn't seem to bother her, but on the other hand, they didn't bother me either. So why should they bother her?

The song ended, and Dustfinger pulled back from Alice, who clearly didn't want to stop.

"Thank you." he said, and Alice just nodded. Then she moved to the couch and sat down. I wondered how fast her heart was beating.

"You see? It's not that bad." he said, smiling as he extended a hand towards me. "Play the song again, and dance with me."

"Dustfinger, I honestly think I shouldn't ever dance again." I said "You don't want to broken feet do you?"

Dustfinger gave one of his short, bark like laughs and then just took my hand. He laid his hand on my waist, and hesitant I placed my hand on his shoulder.

"You are _so_ going to be sorry for this." I mumbled, but he just smiled at me. I didn't look at him, stubbornly looking down at my feet. Alice had quickly but on the song and Dustfinger started moving his feet.

It was worse then I thought. I kept getting confused and was clumsy enough to almost throw him down to the floor. I was about to pull back from him with all the strength I had, when he bowed his head and spoke so close to my ear that only I could hear him.

"Don't look at your feet Meggie. Look at me."

_Yeah right._ I thought _Looking at my feet is the only way to not stomp on you or even worse. _

"I don't think so." I answered.

"_Trust_ me." it almost sounded like a plead. I slowly looked up, right into a pair of blue eyes that were looking at me very intensely.

"Now. Don't try to think about your next step. Just do it." he said, softly leading my body to follow his. "Follow my lead. Don't be scared to mess it up. You can't do anything wrong when you're following someone."

Somehow his word's made sense. I did what he told me, let my body be pulled and turned by him, and somehow it knew exactly what to do. When he took a step back my body took a step forward. It suddenly was so easy.

It felt natural to be in his arms, to dance with him, to feel his hand on my waist and stare into his eager looking eyes. Almost as if I had never done anything else. As if this was meant to be.

Time stood still for me, and all that counted was Dustfinger. Forgotten was Alice, the livingroom, the music... my whole world shrunk around me and suddenly he was my world.

When the music stopped I wanted to scream at Alice to play it again. But then I pulled back, sheepishly looking at him. I was at a los for words.

"Wasn't that bad was it?" he asked, as he picked up his coat, and put it back on.

"No." I said, quickly looking at Alice who seemed like she urgently wanted to tell me something. "Thank you Dustfinger." Dustfinger just nodded, picked up the apple and left the room.

_Mysterious as always._ I thought. It was almost annoying never to know what he was thinking.

But as soon as the door closed, Alice blurted out "He is _so_ into you Meggie!"

"Huh?" was the only answer I could give. I still felt a little dizzy from being close to him for so long, and her words hit me like stones. "What the hell are you talking about Alice?!"

"Didn't you see how he was looking at you?!" she asked, grabbing my hand and pulling me up to my room so fast I almost fell. She sat down on my bed, and I sat down next to her.

"Alice, I think you are interpreting way to much into a look." I said, but my heart was beating against my chest so violently it almost hurt. Was there even a little bit of hope that Dustfinger might like me? Me, Meggie Folchart, the girl he called princess and treated with such caution that it sometime's annoyed the shit out of me?

"No, I didn't. Meggie, he looked at you as if... I can't even describe it!" she said, her voice high with excitement and happiness.

"I don't know. He's a lot older then me. What could he possibly see in me?" I asked, looking into the mirror that stood on my desk. It was just big enough to see my face. My cheeks were red, and when I touched them I was surprised by how hot they were. Was I really so in love with Dustfinger that just the slightest chance of he liking me to made me like this?

"Oh come on Meggie. You're smart, fun and beautiful." she winked at me "And love doesn't know or care about age."

"Still Alice. I'm not sure." I shifted a little uncomfortable, pushing a strand of my hair behind my ear.

"Well, then let's find out!" Alice was fully motivated, the sparkle in her eyes making me realize that I had no chance of stopping her from doing whatever she planned.

"Lay on the floor, and hold your ankle." she said, gently pushing me off the bed.

"What?!" I asked, sitting down on the floor more out of confusion then out of trusting her and doing what she said.

"Just do it! Hold your ankle!" she said, and then opened the door. I did what she told me, staring at her. What the hell was she up to? But before I could even open my mouth, it was to late.

"Mo, Resa, Dustfinger quick! Meggie hurt herself!!" she yelled, and then quickly sat down next to me, grinning widely. "Act like your ankle hurts." she whispered to me.

"Alice, are you stupid?!" I hissed, quickly glancing at the door. "How is _this _going to show me how Dustfinger feels?"

"You'll see." she giggled, and then looked at me real worried. One day she was going to be on hell of an actress.

We both looked to the door as someone rushed through it. Dustfinger immediately kneeled down beside me, his face looking so worried it hurt me. I wanted to tell him it was just a stupid joke to make the pain in his face go away, but somehow I couldn't.

I was too scared that he would get angry and never look or talk to me again. I had no other choice but to play along with Alice plan.

"How did it happen?" he asked, quickly scooping me of the floor and onto his strong arms. I didn't really know what to say, but luckily Alice was a good liar.

"She tripped." she quickly said, following Dustfinger down the stairs. Mo and Resa were about to hurry upstairs, and then just let Dustfinger pass them. The fire-breather let me down and sat me on the sofa.

Mo quickly got on his knees, carefully looking at my foot. Dustfinger was standing next to me, his long fingers curled into fists. I couldn't look at him, so I quickly looked down to Mo, who was still examining my foot.

"Does it hurt?" he asked, as he carefully touched my foot. I shot a look at Alice who nodded her head slightly.

"Uh.. yeah, it does." I quickly answered, and looked back to Mo. "I... I think it might be broken or something." I bet Alice was proud of me.

"We should take her to a doctor." Dustfinger said, and Resa nodded in agreement. "If it is broken, it need's to be treated by a doctor."

"Probably." Mo murmured and then got up. "Okay, I'll take her to the hospital. They will probably want to do an x-ray anyway, we might as well go straight to the place where it can be done."

"Can I come?" Alice asked, taking my hand and gently squeezing it. "I want to know what's wrong too."

"Sure." Mo answered, smiling slightly. "You two can't be separated, can you?"

"Nope." Alice said, and smiled at Mo ever so sweetly. "We are best friends after all." Alice had a way with people (especially men), and I envied her for it. I was never able to talk so freely to anyone, least at all strangers, but Alice would just walk up to someone and talk to them. It was one of the things I really liked about her.

Mo was about to pick me up when Dustfinger moved in front of him, lifting me onto his arms as if I weighed nothing at all. I felt my cheek's grow hot again, as he carried me to the bus. The first time I was still to surprised and overwhelmed to really grasp how close I was to him. But now I could feel the warmth of his body, smell his scent... and if I listened really hard, the beating of his heart that seemed to be a little too quick.

He gently but me down on the backseat after Alice opened it for him, and stayed bent down.

"You okay princess?" he asked quietly. His eye's were searching my face for any sign's of pain or fear, and I couldn't stand it. He was worried and it was my fault. I was lying to him, betraying him, only to find out if he liked me. I allowed him to feel pain, and it nearly made me cry.

"Don't be scared princess." he whispered, gently stroking my cheek. He must have thought the tears in my eye's were because of the pain I felt, or the fear from what was going to come. "You'll be just fine. I promise."

I nodded slightly. _Come with me_. I wanted to say. _Come with me, hold me close to you. Don't leave._ _Stay with me. _And as always, of course, I didn't say it.

"Be brave. I know you are." were his last words, before he moved away from me. I watched him take a few steps back, as he let Alice in to sit next to me. He closed the door, watching me as Mo started the engine and drove away.

The doctor at the hospital was nice, and after he looked at the x-ray, he said it was probably sprained, and that it would be okay in a week or two, as long as I gave it chance to heal and didn't walk around a lot. He put a bandage on my foot, and then let me go home.

Mo still had to fill out some forms at the desk of the nurse's station, and me and Alice waited for him in the sitting area. As soon as we were alone I turned to her.

"Okay, so _how _exactly did this help me to find out if Dustfinger likes me?" I asked, a little angry with her. Because of her, Dustfinger was worried about me, and I had to spend almost two hours waiting in a hospital.

Alice smiled at me, obviously pleased with the result of her little game.

"It's simple. He was the first do arrive in your room. That mean's, you must mean a lot to him. He even got there before Mo or your mom!" she explained, smiling at me. "If he didn't care about you a lot, he wouldn't have rushed back to you so fast."

I blinked at her, in disbelieve. "**Or **he was the closest, and because he cares for me as a daughter, he hurried to help me. Alice, that doesn't prove _anything_!"

"Trust me, it does." Alice said. "Didn't you see how he acted? He didn't even let Mo carry you to the car! If you were a daughter to him, wouldn't he let your father take care of you?"

"...Okay you have a point." I admitted, and sighted a bit. "But seriously, did it have to be something so dramatic?"

"Drama is what I do best." Alice smiled, and winked. "Anyway, now you can enjoy being spoiled by him. You loved it when he carried you. You looked like you were just about to melt in his arms."

"Stop teasing me!" I said, but then giggled a little. She was right. I had enjoyed it **very** much.

"So, now all you have to do is make him yours." she said, and smiled at me.

"Yeah right." I said, suddenly serious again. "There is no way he would ever go steady with me or anything like that."

"How do you know that?" she asked me, and smiled "I bet if you do it the right way he would fall on his knee's and ask you to marry him."

"You are way too optimistic." I shook my head. "I'm not you Alice. I don't know how to talk to guys, or make them want to be with me. That's your special power." I tried to push away the hopelessness inside me by joking, but it didn't work. I still felt depressed, knowing that he liked me, but also knowing I would probably never have him.

"I'll help you. You'll see." was all she answered.

"Ready to go?" Mo asked, smiling at both of us. I nodded, and he carefully picked me up. We walked back to the bus in silence, and when we got home, Resa and Dustfinger were already waiting.

"It's only a sprain." I immediately said as Mo put me down on the sofa. Dustfinger looked relieved, and I felt a little better. "It'll be okay in a week or two."

Resa smiled at me and gave me a hug, before softly stroking my hair. Then she gave Mo a kiss.

"Hey, can Alice sleep over?" I asked, taking everyone by surprise, even Alice. _Got you back._ But Alice quickly picked up on the game.

"I promise to be good." she said sweetly, batting her eyes at Mo. _Damn it. How the hell does she do it?! _ "I don't want to leave Meggie alone tonight."

"Of course you can." Mo said, smiling at both of us.

"Thank you~" me and Alice said at the same time, smiling at Mo and then at each other. Alice was way to good at stuff like this. But on the other hand... it helped more then it harmed.

"Well, do you need to get some stuff from your place Alice?" Mo asked.

"Yeah... uhm... Meggie, can I leave you alone a little while?" her voice sounded sincerely worried, but the grin on her face said more then thousand words.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I replied, looking at Mo. "Can you drive her?"

"Sure. No problem." Mo said, smiling at Alice. "Ah before I forget. Me and your Mom want to go see a movie tonight. Do you want to come?"

"No, I think we're fine, right Meggie?" Alice said, and I nodded.

"Yeah. Thank's anyway though." I smiled at him. Mo looked at Dustfinger who shook his head. He didn't like the movie's, I knew. He hated how loud and full they were.

"Okay then how about Resa and Alice come with me, and we'll get your stuff and then drop you off here again. Then we can go straight to the Movie theater."

"Sounds okay." I said and looked at Alice. She was wiggling her eyebrows in a suggesting way. I would be alone with Dustfinger. This was probably my best chance.

"We'll see you later then." she said, and walked off to the door. Mo gave me a kiss on the forehead before following, and Resa a kiss on the cheek. Soon, it was only me and Dustfinger left in the livingroom.

I felt a little nervous, not looking at him. I felt the couch give in a little under his weight as he sat down next to me.

"Does it hurt?" he asked me, and I slowly turned my face to look at him. He was sitting close to me, closer then ever before. On one side it scared me, but on the other I loved it. I felt safe around him.

"No, it's okay now. As long as I don't move it, it's fine." my voice sounded a little shaky, as if I were scared.

"Are you sure?" he asked, and I nodded. He was so close, so close... I didn't really know how to act around him.

Dustfinger smiled at me a little, and all I could do was smile back. It was weird being with him like this, now that I knew there was a chance that he liked me.

"I'm sorry I worried you." the words slipped pass my lips before I could stop them.

"I always worry about you princess." he answered, and this time it was him who didn't look at me.

"Really? Why?" I asked, curious about his answer. My heart was beating faster again, so fast I was scared it might just stop.

"...Because you are so precious to me." he said, suddenly grasping me and pulling me tightly to his chest.

"I'm scared to let you out of the house, to leave you alone every time I go because something could happen to you. But if I stay longer then these 2 ½ days, I know something much worse would happen." his voice was coarse, barely over a whisper, and so close to my ear that it made me shiver.

"What... would happen?" I asked, placing my hands on his back to keep him close to me.

"...I could do something you don't want." he answered. "I could destroy everything you and I have here. I would anger your parents, they would never let me see you again... I can't let that happen." He swallowed, his grip around me becoming harder.

"What would you do?" I asked, my voice so quiet that I was scared he couldn't hear it.

It felt so good to have him so close to me. I could feel my body starting to tingle all over, making me want to move closer to him. So I pushed myself into him harder, sighting in pleasure.

"I could kiss you and touch you in a way that would be very inappropriate." he said, his nose softly touching my neck as he trailed his lips over it, only inches away. I shuddered, a soft moan escaped my lips. I felt him flinch, and then he pressed his lips against my throat. Then he pulled back.

"Don't!" finally I was able to say what I wanted to say. I held on to him, pressing myself to his chest. "Don't let go~"

Dustfinger swallowed hard, and then softly pushed me away. "I'm sorry Meggie. But this just can't be. This can't ever be."

He stood up, looking at me and then said "I'm going to be back in a few hours." and then left.

In that moment Alice entered the door. She came into the living room... and found me crying my heart out.

_So this is what it feel's like. A broken heart._

**Tbc**...


	2. Chapter 2

1**Chapter 2**

Dustfinger didn't come back. At least he didn't come and see me. Me and Alice had gone to bed soon, the moment after I stopped crying. Alice had comforted me, telling me not to give up. I wasn't about to give up. But it still hurt.

When I had gotten up in the morning, I noticed that his things were gone. Mo told me that he had wanted to earn some more money. Of course I knew that it was a lie.

Dustfinger had run away from me, like the coward he was.

The weekend passed, and Monday came. I sat in class, trying to concentrate, but there was no way. With my final exams behind me there was nothing really important to learn anymore. All my thoughts were with my fire-breathing romance.

Tuesday passed, Wednesday and Thursday did as well. And before I knew it was Friday again. The days had just passed by, so fast I didn't even really notice them. It was as if my mind had been clouded by dark fog.

Math class ended, and Alice smiled at me a little as we walked to the exit.

"Is he coming back today?" she asked, looking at me from the corner of her eye.

"I don't know. I... I don't know if I want him too anyway." I answered, opening the door. "He hurt me pretty bad."

"Well... yeah, but remember he's a guy. And you are a minor. If anybody find's out about you two, he could be in serious trouble."

"Yeah I know." I answered. Alice had a point, he **was **a few year's older then me. Too old most people would say. But how could I explain that this probably wasn't the problem for Dustfinger?

The problem was I couldn't tell Alice the whole truth. That he came from a book and stuff like that didn't matter there. But she couldn't really help me without all the information about him. I had to find a way to tell her the truth, but in a way that didn't involve the whole story with Capricorn or Basta.

"But... I don't really think that's the problem." I continued, letting my gaze sweep over the street in front of the school. Again, Mo's car was missing.

"Why would you say that?" she asked, as we sat down on the floor. Alice always waited with me for Mo to come.

"He... he's kind of from a place were it doesn't really matter how old you are."

"Oh, so he's from another country?" she asked, looking at me interested.

"Uh... kinda. Yeah." okay, so this was as close to the truth I could go. "It's really far from here."

"Like... Europe?" she asked, clearly excited that Dustfinger was from another country. She was probably imagining him as soon foreign night in shining armor. Come to think of it, he kind of was.

_A cowardly, scared and sneaky knight though. _I added to my thoughts.

"Yeah. Europe. I don't know exactly from where he is though."

"Well, make's sense. He seem's really secretive. He doesn't really seem to fit in that well. Maybe that's why he's so reserved." she said, pulling out a water bottle from her bag, and taking a sip.

"You want some?" she offered and I accepted with a nod, taking a sip myself. "So do you think that's why he's the way he is? Is he shy?"

Shy wasn't the right word. Careful maybe. Suspicious. But not shy.

"Yes, he's probably shy." I hated lying to Alice. But if I told her that wasn't right, she was going to ask question's. And that was something I couldn't have her doing.

"Okay. So, you still want him right?"

"Yes. I still want him." There. We were finally getting to the point of conversation where I wanted to be. "I... I think I'm really in love with him."

"Well, you think, I know." she grinned at me. "You are totally into him. No going back on this one I fear. What do you want to do?"

I hadn't thought about that. Dam it. What _did _I want to do? There wasn't really anything I could do, was there?

"I don't know. I guess I just have to get rid of his fear's, right?" I asked, turning my head to her.

"Obviously. All guy's are scared of one thing or the other when it come's to being in a new relationship. All you've got to do is find out what he fears and..." Alice made a vanishing movement with her hand "... make that go away. Do you know what he's scared of?"

"Commitment. He's really scared of that. Then probably my parents. And losing me." I said, laying my head back to blink into the blue sky. "He... lost his family a long time ago. So he's been really careful with... stuff like that."

"Sound's like you're in for a wild ride. He's not easy."

"I know. But still. I want to give it a try. I want to make him happy." I looked back at her, and she was smiling at me in a way that made me feel uncomfortable.

"...What?" I finally asked.

"You really love him, don't you? Do you thing he could be... the one?" I stared at her. Did I think he could...?

My mouth answered before I could even think about it. "Yes. Yes I think he could be."

"Well then, we have to give our best to make him yours, don't you think?" she smiled at me again. "We have to find a way for you two to have some alone-time. You have a plan?"

"No, not really. Whenever he's there, my parents are too." I sighted in frustration. Why was everything so hard?

"Well, we have to make a plan. We could lure your parents out of the house or something like that. Like last time, when he stayed to take care of us?"

That sounded good.

"But where should we send them?" I asked, bitting my lower lip. "They've already been to the movies. Maybe dinner?"

"Sure. We'll figure that out." I could tell Alice loved this. She was born for stuff like this, and whenever she did it, it was like a flower opening up. "All we need is a plan to trick him. That can't be too hard."

"You shouldn't trap boy's like animals ladies. Sometime's they don't react the way you think they will." The voice made us both jump.

There Dustfinger was, standing next to us, smiling a little.

"How the _hell_ do you do that?!" Alice asked. Not many were able to surprise her, and the fact that Dustfinger had managed to do just this had to annoy her. I knew my best friend. She didn't like to lose.

"It's a secret sunshine." he answered.

_Sunshine? Since when does he give other girls nicknames? _Was all I could think. I was jealous. So jealous I felt sick. He held his hands out for us, and while Alice gripped it, I stood up by myself. I was way to upset to let him help me. _Why is he doing this?_

Alice shot me a short look, probably knowing how I felt. She always knew how I felt. Sometimes I asked myself if it was because I was like an open book, or if she was just very sensitive about the people around her. Maybe it was both.

"Well Meggie, I think we'll get you and Bryan some alone-time before the prom. We'll talk about it later. I'll be over soon, so have your homework done" she smiled at me, hugged me, and then waved goodbye, before quickly leaving.

The voice in my head was going nuts. **Why** for the love of god had she pulled Bryan into this?! So that Dustfinger didn't think we were talking about him? It made sense. But when I looked into Dustfinger's eyes, I knew she had been playing a different game.

He wasn't smiling anymore, not even a little. His eye's were hard, and cold. He stared at me, as if I had done something horrible. Even I could tell he was jealous. And that was probably what Alice had aimed for.

"So. You and Bryan are more then friends?" he asked.

I had to answer quick. But it had to be an answer that didn't say anything. If he thought I liked Bryan, he might pull back completely and that was the last thing I wanted. But if I said no, he would probably get that we were talking about him, making Alice look bad. I didn't want that either.

"I... don't know." I said, turning and walking towards the street. I was a horrible liar, much worse then Dustfinger, and I knew that if he saw my face, he would notice I was lying. So I had to go, hide myself from him.

"You don't know?" he asked, following me as I walked home.

"Yes, I don't know. Is Mo busy working?" I hoped that I could change the subject, hoped so badly that he would let go and just continue being normal until Alice was back and I could do something smart.

"Yes, he's busy." he answered, but by the sound of his voice I knew he wasn't about to leave me alone with Bryan. "How can you not know? If you want to spend some _alone-time _with him, there must be something?"

Great. I was SOL. What was I supposed to say? Without getting myself into even deeper trouble?

"Dustfinger, I **really** don't know. He's a friend of mine, but he like's me. And because there's noone else who likes me, why shouldn't I give it a shot?" my voice sounded to sharp, to mean. I wanted to apologize. But somehow I couldn't.

_Why do I feel guilty anyway? He doesn't want me. Why should wait around for him? If he doesn't want to be with me, then it's none of his business who I date and who not. _I knew it was childish to think like that. But somehow, I felt it was true. Why did he care?

"So you're just going to go for the next best guy that drool's over you?" he shot back, his voice just as biting as mine.

"At least there **is** someone who drool's over me." Why was I being so mean? Why was I hurting him on purpose?

_Because he left me alone. He just ran off, as always. He left me to cry, broke my heart, and then just came back as if nothing had happened. He hurt me. _

But did that justify that I hurt him?

I was so caught up in my thought's, I didn't notice the stone that laid in the way right in front of me. I stepped on it, slipped... and was suddenly held by two strong arms, tightly wrapped around me.

My eye's were wide in shock, as I stared up into his handsome face. It was now that I noticed he looked different then usual. He looked...old wasn't the right word. Tired. He looked absolutely exhausted. Dark circles laid under his eye's, which were red. As if he hadn't slept for days.

For a moment we just stood like this, staring at each other. Again, the world around me started to shrink, and only stopped around him.

He moved so fast I didn't even know what happened. He had pulled me up, his arms still wrapped around me, pressing his lips to mine. My body relaxed against him, as I felt a sigh of relieve escape my mouth.

His lips were even softer then I remembered them. His smell was so exquisite, so incredible... there was nothing to compare with. I felt his lips move on mine, urgent, needing, and I quickly complied. My hands tangled in his hair, I pulled him closer so he couldn't escape.

There was nothing sweet about the kiss, nothing loving. Just pure need. And lust for more. I quickly opened my mouth, inviting him. An invitation he didn't leave unanswered. His tongue entered my mouth, exploring everything. It was like a dance, so perfect and absolutely right. I couldn't remember ever feeling like this with Farid.

His hands hand slipped to my waist, pulling me up against him so hard it almost hurt. It felt like he never wanted to let me go, and I didn't complain. This was exactly where I wanted to be. Close to him, kissing him, touching him, feeling him. I had never felt so good in my whole life.

My hands slid to his neck, down to his shoulders, and came to rest on his chest. It was rising and falling so fast I feared he was going to be out of air any second. Then he pulled back.

I had closed my eye's, and now opened them slowly, to look at his face. His lip's were red, his eye's half closed. He panted, looking at me with such longing it almost made me feel bad. He wanted me, just as much as I wanted him. Or maybe even more.

"We can't do this princess..." he whispered, his hands gripping my waist tightly, hanging on for control. "We just can't. This... is so wrong."

_How can something that feel's this good be wrong?_ I wanted to ask. But I knew, a different question had to be asked. Even if it was a simple one.

"Why?" I breathed, pushing my body against his, so he wouldn't back away.

"Why?" he asked, pain filling his eyes. "Meggie, you are 17. I am a lot older then you. Your parents would _kill _me. I mean it. _Kill _me. If they found out, they would never let me see you again. If anybody else found out they would call the police on me. Don't look at me like that, I know the rule's of this story."

I swallowed hard. How had he known I was surprised?

"And that's not even the worst." he continued "If this didn't work out, if this went wrong... we would lose everything we have. It could never be the way it was. Don't you understand?" His words were like a plead. "This can only bring trouble and pain upon us."

I understood. Even if I didn't want to. He had a point.

But I wasn't going to give up this easily, wasn't going to let the man I loved slip through my hands like sand. I loved him, and he loved me. There had to be a way. There just had to be.

"But if nothing of this ever happens... if you and I stick together, if my parent's don't find out until I'm off age..." I answered, softly stroking his cheek. "We could be so happy together... Can't you feel it? This is meant to be."

"...I lost someone once, princess. There is no guarantee it won't happen again." the sorrow in his eye's burnt me, even worse then the pain I felt. I felt tears rising into my eyes, my heart beating so fast it hurt.

"Oh please, princess." he whispered, leaning his forehead against mine. "I beg you don't cry over me. There will be a thousand other men in your life. Men that are better for you then me. I promise."

"I don't want anyone else." I breathed, closing my eye's again. I was crying, tears leaving a hot trail on my cheek. I wanted him. I wanted him so badly if he rejected me, I felt I was going to die. "I want you."

Again I felt his soft lips against my skin, kissing away the tears I cried. It felt so good and so horrible at the same time.

"Don't be so nice to me." I sobbed, turning my face. "Don't be nice to me if you don't mean it. If I can't have you."

"Meggie..." his voice was so soft I almost didn't hear it. Then he turned my face, and once again kissed me. This kiss was sweet, loving, warm... and so full of sadness I could almost not take it.

"There is nothing I want more in this story then you." he said, placing on hand on the back of my head, and softly pressing it to his chest. "But you are so special, so precious to me... if I ever hurt you... I couldn't take it. And we both know, sooner or later, I would hurt you."

I was furious. Suddenly, all the sadness disappeared, leaving nothing but anger and disappointment. I pushed him away from me, so hard he stumbled back.

"_Hurt _me?!" I almost yelled. "Can't you _see _you're hurting me **right now**?! If you think this way, you should have **never** done _anything_! First you give me hope, and then you _drop_ me?! And then you have the nerve to say something about _hurting_ me?!"

I didn't care about the pain and the surprise in his face. I didn't care I was probably hurting him so bad he would never come back. I didn't care. I just didn't care.

"You're killing me. You knew I loved you. You knew from the very start." I whispered, whipping the tears from my face. "You knew. And still you acted the way you did."

I couldn't understand. Why did he hurt me like this? Why was he doing this to me? If he hadn't wanted me from the beginning... why?

"Meggie-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses! I know them. I know them all!" I turned around, my back facing him. "I know everything about you..."

_When did I become so pathetic? Or the even better question was..When did I fall so deeply in love with him?_

Dustfinger didn't say anything, and I didn't know if I was mad or happy. He finally knew how I felt. I knew how he felt. And still, it seemed like it was never going to be.

"We should go home." I finally said, and started walking. Dustfinger followed, silent. I felt like all the words were drained from my head.

Lunch was ready when we got home, but I didn't feel like eating anything. I went up to my room, got my homework done, and then laid down on my bed. I had lost it pretty bad. Alice would probably be upset. Well... not seriously upset. But... well Alice-upset.

About 20 minutes later the doorbell rang, and Alice was sitting next to me on my bed only a few minutes later.

She listened patiently as I told her how I had screwed up my probably only chance with Dustfinger. When I was done, she took a deep breath.

"Okay so... you did some damage. But it can be fixed."

"It can?" I asked, running my finger's through my hair. "I don't know Alice. He's kind of sensitive."

"I know. But still. I'm sure if you apologize, it will be okay soon." she looked at me. "But remember to do the 3-step apology."

"...Come again?"

"Oh Meggie, you are hopeless. Okay. So there are 3 steps to make an apology worth accepting. The first step is to admit to your mistake. The second step is the actual apology. And the third step is asking if there's a way you can make up for it. If you do that, you should be okay."

"You really think that will work?" I asked, laying back on my bed. I didn't know if I really had the energy to do that. I still felt hurt... and somehow weak. The argument hat really taken it out of me. Or was it my broken heart that stole all the energy I had?

The knock on the door made me sit up, as a voice asked "Can I come in?"

It was Dustfinger. I looked at Alice, who nodded slightly and we both watched the door as I said "Yeah. Come on in."

Dustfinger walked into the room, his face looking very wary. "Could you give us a minute sunshine?" he asked, and Alice got up, smiling at him a little.

"Sure. Meggie, I'm gonna go grab a coke from downstairs. Want one to?" I nodded, and she walked out of the room.

"Why do you call her sunshine?" I asked, as soon as I was sure Alice couldn't hear anymore.

"Because of her personality. She's like sunshine. Always warm and pleasant to be around." Dustfinger looked at me, before he sat down on the edge of my bed. "I bet that's what you like about her, don't you?"

Again, all I did was nod. He was right, in a way. Alice really _was _like sunshine.

"So then, you calling me princess can't be good." I said. "All the princesses I know are spoiled and touchy. I don't understand what the princes like about them."

"When I call you princess, I think of a beautiful girl that is out of my reach." he answered, not looking at me. I felt myself blush.

"I'm sorry." he then said. I couldn't believe my ears.

"What?"

"I'm sorry for treating you the way I did. You were right. I should have never... done those things with you." he sighted. "...and I'm sorry I never told you how I truly feel." He turned his head so he was facing me. "I love you, Meggie."

Time stood still. I had known that. Why did it make my heart feel all tight, and so light at the same time? Why was I blushing? And why did I feel so good?

"I'm sorry for all the sorrow I caused. And if you want me to leave and never come back, I swear I will do so. I just want to make it up to you. I want you to be happy. It kill's me that I'm the one who causes you such pain."

Had he been listening to me and Alice, or where had he gotten the 3-step apology from? He could never come up with that by himself... could he?

"You'd do anything to make me happy?" I asked, moving over to sit next to him.

"Everything I can." he answered, watching me as I placed my hand on his.

"...Give us a chance."

"Meggie..."

"I know what you are about to say." I said, leaning my head against his shoulder. "And I understand. But can you understand me?"

He sighed, and laid his arm around my shoulder. "Explain it to me."

"I know you are scared. I'm scared too. But we can't always let fear control our live. If we did, we couldn't leave the house, or stay in the house. Because outside you can get hurt, and inside you can get hurt too. So basically, we're screwed wherever we are."

Dustfinger gave me a kiss on the head. "So you have to choose the lesser of two evil." he said, softly stroking my shoulder.

"Right. If you never give me a chance, I won't ever be able to forget you. I will always be asking myself what would have happened, or what could have been. Because I love you so much it almost hurts." I paused, trying to find the right words. "But if you do give me a chance, then we can see what happens. If it doesn't work out, I know we can manage. It'll be awkward for a while. But at least we won't regret anything. Don't you think?"

"You ask so much of me. But I guess that's what princesses do, hm?" he smiled at me, that beautiful, crooked smile that I loved so much. "You ask me to forget everything, to risk losing the only people I have in this story... and in the end, it might not even work out."

I shrugged "Love is never easy, I guess."

"It's to bad we can't turn the pages and see the end of this story, don't you think?" he asked.

"You once said to me yourself: Do you want to know the end of your story? Of course not. Where's the fun in that?" I reminded him, smiling slightly. Not what I was in his arm's, I felt a lot better. I always did.

"Yes... I did say that." gently placing one finger under my chin, he softly lifted my face and gave me a kiss. "My little princes... you deserve so much more then me. A man from the common folk."

"It's you I want. And your not common folk." I smiled at him, nuzzling my nose against his throat so I could breath in his sent. "You are wonderful."

"You are to kind." he said, softly grasping my hand and rubbing it against his cheek. The stubbles of his beard tickled me, and I giggled a little.

"No, I'm not. If you weren't I wouldn't love you." I said, relaxing against him.

"You've got a point. There has to be something good about me that such a beautiful little princess would fall in love with me." I just laughed.

"I'm not little. Only because I'm not freakishly tall." my word's made him smile. "See? This seem's right, doesn't it?"

He looked at me, and then nodded. "Yes. It does. I really does."

"So why fight it?" I continued.

"Let me think about it Meggie. Not because I don't want to, don't ever think that. It's because I love you so much. Please, understand."

"You don't leave me much of a choice, do you know?" I asked, smiling at him a little.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, first you make me fall madly in love with you, then you kiss me, and make me feel like I'm in heaven... is there any way I can say no to you?"

It made him smile, even though the look in his eye's was worried.

"I love you." I simply said, kissing him and smiling.

"I love you too." he answered, returning the kiss, and kissing me on the forehead as well.

"Well aren't you two sweet." Alice said, leaning against the doorframe, holding two coke's in her hand. She threw one to me, and Dustfinger caught it, before he gave it to me.

"Should I go home Meggie?" she asked, smiling like an Angel.

"You are a real wolf in sheep's clothing aren't you sunshine?" Dustfinger asked, getting up from the bed, grinning a little.

"I do my best. So, now that you gave me a nickname, it's only fair that I give you one to." she said, sitting down next to me.

"Oh? So, sunshine. What name do you have for me?" he asked, walking towards the door, before he stopped and turned around.

Alice looked at him, examining him, but I knew she was teasing. I bet he knew too.

"I'll have to think about it. I'll let you know." she answered, making me and Dustfinger laugh.

He was about to say something when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Mo called, and I could hear him rush to the door.

"Who could that be?" I asked, looking at Alice and then at Dustfinger. Everybody who normally came by... was already here. So who...?

"Meggie, it's Bryan!" Mo called. I was confused. What was Bryan doing here?

Dustfinger's body immediately stiffened, and I knew that nothing good could come from this. I stood up, and walked passed him, but before I could leave the room, he gripped me and gave me a kiss.

When he let go, I smiled at him a little and said "Don't worry. I'm all yours." I could hear Alice suppress a giggle.

"I don't like him." Dustfinger said, and I nodded.

"I know. But trust me. He's no competition." with that he let me go, and I walked downstairs. I knew he was probably following me, and Alice was at the top of the stairs, nosy as always, waiting to see what happened.

"Hey Bryan." I said, smiling a little as I walked to meet him in the middle of the hallway.

"Hey Meggie. How are you?" he was smiling as always, and was carrying a small package, wrapped in some gift wrap paper. "Here. I thought you would like it."

He handed me the present, and I accepted it with a small smile. "Uh... thank's Bryan. But you really didn't have to." I didn't want gift's from him. Why was he here?

"No, it's okay. Really. I wanted to." he said. "You're probably wondering why I'm here, huh?"

"Uh... yeah. Actually, I am." I confessed. "But you can come and stay if you want. Alice is here as well." I didn't want to be rude. He had come all the way here, probably on his bike, and he lived on the other side of town.

"No, I can't I have to be home soon. I just wanted to tell you something." he way he smiled at me made me nervous.

"Okay so... what do you want to tell me?" I felt watched. I was pretty sure Dustfinger was hiding somewhere, watching us. I wanted Bryan to leave, to just go away so I could be with Dustfinger. So that the man I loved didn't have to be jealous and upset.

"Well. I heard you and Alice talking. You know. About me." I heard my bedroom door close. Alice was _so_ going to pay for that.

"Uh... Bryan... I..." I didn't know what to say. If Dustfinger was listening, I couldn't tell Bryan that we weren't talking about him. But I couldn't leave Bryan in the impression that I liked him.

_This is such a __**mess.**_

"I'd like to spend some time with you before the prom." he simply said, smiling at me. "I've got ticket's for the movie's this evening. I'd like you to come with me."

_Great. He probably bought the ticket's for us. If I say no, it would be really rude. But if I say yes, Dustfinger would be really mad._

But the decision was taken out of my hand.

"Sure Meggie, why don't you go?" Mo said, smiling at me and Bryan. "I'm sure it'll be fun. When's the movie Bryan?"

"In two hours." Bryan said, smiling at me. He was very pleased, and I wondered if he had talked to Mo beforehand.

"Okay, great. So I'll take Meggie to the movie's, and I'll pick her up." Mo said, smiling at me. I had never wanted to hurt my dad. Right now, I would have gladly smacked him on the head.

"Perfect. Thank you Mr. Folchart."

"No Problem. And call me Mo." he answered, and walked back to his work.

"I'll see you Meggie." Bryan said, before he walked out and closed the door.

I was overwhelmed. It had all happened so fast, and so suddenly, that now I felt like I had been in a movie that was played in fast forward.

Dustfinger appeared out of a corner, walked up to me and said. "I'll be there." before he too, left the house.

_Great. This is just __**great.**_

"Alice!" I called, hurrying up into my room. Alice was sitting on my bed, smiling at me sheepishly.

"Ops." was all she said.

"You know, one day, you are going to pay for all this." I said, letting myself drop onto the bed. "What am I going to do? Bryan want's to go to the movie's with me, Mo is totally in on it, and Dustfinger is going to be there! This is going to be a complete disaster."

"Well... at least Dustfinger can take care if you. I mean if Bryan try's to do something... iffy." Alice said.

"You think he'd do something like that?" I asked, closing my eyes and rubbing my temples. _All this stuff is giving me a headache._

"Well, maybe.. Just keep your eye's open. I don't think Romeo would like to see his Juliette being kissed my Paris."

"Oh Alice." I sighted "This is so messed up."

"Yeah well, if Bryan does anything messy, I'm sure Dustfinger will clean him up." she said, giggling.

"You'd love that, wouldn't you?" I asked, smiling. "You are such a twit."

"Take's one to know one honey." she answered, sweetly smiling at me. "Anyway, you've got two hours with me, before you have to go. Let's talk about the prom."

I didn't think the next two hours were ever going to end, but finally, they did. I hated talking about the prom. I didn't care about it that much. And I hated how everybody was going nuts about it.

But then the time came, and Mo dropped Alice off at home, before taking me to the movies. Bryan was already waiting, and I waved my father goodbye as he drove away.

"So, let's do it." Bryan said, smiling at me. I just gave a nervous laugh. The movie was funny, and I enjoyed it. What I didn't enjoy was when Bryan tried to take my hand. I got out of that by going to the restroom. After that, he didn't try anything anymore. I thought I was safe.

But of course, as always, I was wrong.

When the movie was over it was dark outside, and me and Bryan were waiting for Mo to pick me up. Bryan himself had come with his bike.

As we were waiting, he suddenly took my hand, pulled me close and was about to kiss me. But he didn't get that far.

"I don't think so." Dustfinger growled, grabbing Bryan at the back of his collar and pulling him back.

Bryan looked extremely surprised. And angry.

"What the hell?!" he asked, staring at Dustfinger as he stood next to me. "You're that guy who always comes to visit Mo. What are you doing here?"

"Watching out for her." he replied. "I don't want her to get hurt."

"Dustfinger..." I softly placed one hand on his, and but one hand on his chest, looking up to him. "Please calm down. You know what happens when you are upset." _You'll set something on fire._

Dustfinger's gaze slowly moved to my face, and I felt him relax a little. It felt good to know that he reacted to me like this.

"...Please tell me that you two aren't together." Bryan said, his face a mixture of horror and astonishment.

"Even if we were, it wouldn't be any of your business." Dustfinger growled, putting an arm around me. "Did he do anything else?"

"No, Dustfinger. Please relax." I said, softly stroking his cheek. "Just go home. Mo will be here soon."

"Can I leave you alone with him?" he asked, and I nodded. Bryan was definitely not going to try something like that again today.

"I'm not an animal." Bryan threw in, but we both didn't pay attention.

"I'll meet you in your room." Dustfinger whispered, and then let go of me. He shot Bryan one last, warning glance, before he walked away, disappearing into the shadows.

A few minutes neither Bryan nor I spoke. He then finally asked "Do your parent's know?"

"There's nothing to know about Bryan. We aren't seeing each other." I answered, hoping that Mo would show up soon. He was probably taking his time.

"But he likes you. And you like him." his words sounded bitter. I didn't know what to say. Bryan was the last person on this earth I wanted to talk to about Dustfinger, except my parents, aunt Elinor and Darius maybe.

"I'm not going to give up." he continued, and I turned my head to look at him. I was worried. How was this going to end? "I'm a lot better then he is. How old is he? 30?"

"It doesn't matter Bryan." I just shook my head. "Please. If you like me, don't provoke him. He... doesn't have the best temper when it come's to stuff that concerns me."

"I noticed." was the only answer I got. In that moment Mo drove around the corner, and the parked next to me.

"Thank's for taking me to the movie's Bryan. I had fun." I smiled at him slightly, and then got into the car.

"I'll see you Monday." he answered, and then walked to get his bike and drive home.

"So, how was the movies?" Mo asked, smiling at me as we drove home.

"Okay. Bryan tried to kiss me." I said.

"Oh?" Mo didn't sound surprised at all. He was an even worse liar then me.

"You set this up Mo, didn't you?!" I asked him, slightly annoyed. "Please don't do it again. I don't like Bryan. And the guy I _do _like is all jealous now."

"There's a guy you like?" this time, Mo really was surprised.

"Yes Mo, there is. So please. No more date's?" I asked, leaning my head against the window.

"Okay. Who's the other guy? Do I know him?"

"Dad. No more questions. Please?" I asked, closing my eye's. All I wanted to do was go home, go to my room, cuddle up to Dustfinger and go to sleep. Of course it was a stupid idea. Dustfinger would never sleep in the same bed with me. But it was a nice to think about it.

"Fine. But you'll have to introduce him to me someday." he said, as he pulled into the parking lot in front of our house.

"I promise I will." I answered, and then got out of the car. Mo opened the door, and I quickly said goodnight to him and Mom. Then I walked into my room.

Dustfinger was already waiting there, and I closed the door behind myself. I crossed the room, and wrapped my arms around him. He slid his around my waist, and pulled me close.

"You okay princess?" he asked, softly kissing me on the forehead.

"I'm really tired." I answered, nuzzling my nose against his throat.

"Then you should sleep?" he asked.

"Not now. I want to spend time with you." I said, smiling at him a little. Then I sat down on the bed, waiting for him to sit down next to me. After a few seconds, he sat down.

"Did you think about it?" I asked, as I laid down on my bed, laying my head on my pillow.

"No. I need time Meggie." he answered, softly stroking my hair. "I'm sorry."

I just sighed, and then nodded. I couldn't keep my eye's open anymore, so I just closed them. I didn't care that I was still fully clothed. I just was to tired to change.

"You should sleep princess." he whispered, giving me a chaste kiss on the lips. "We can spend time tomorrow. I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise?" I mumbled, barely able to stay awake.

"Yes. But now, go to sleep. Rest. Tomorrow, you will get your surprise." he gave me another kiss, and then he stood up from the bed.

"Stay?" I asked, grabbing his hand. "Until I fall asleep?" I didn't want him to leave. I wanted him to stay with me as long as he could.

"... Okay princess." he sat back down, and I moved closer to him, so I could feel the warmth of his body."

"Good night Dustfinger." I said, smiling.

"Good night Princess." he answered.

"Dustfinger?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

Silence.

"I love you too, princess."

**Tbc... ?**


	3. Chapter 3

1**Chapter 3**

That night, I had a nightmare.

Dustfinger was standing in front of me, crying, staring into a fire that burnt in front of him. He was only a few inches away, but when I called his name, he didn't hear me, and as much as I tried to touch him, he was always out of reach.

I woke up early in the morning, cold sweat making my clothes stick to my boy. I knew exactly what the dream had been about. You didn't have to be a genius to figure it out.

Now that I was awake, I decided to go take a shower and then get dressed. Dustfinger had promised me a surprise, and I was curious about what he had planned to do with me. I had barely blow-dried my hair when the door to my Room opened.

It was still rather early. Mo and mom were probably still sleeping. I wasn't too surprised though. Dustfinger always sneaked out early in the morning when he didn't want Mo to know where he went, and somehow I sensed that it was one of these times again.

"You ready princess?" he asked, smiling at me a little. "You should wear comfortable shoes. We're going to be walking quite a bit. I packed food and water."

"Where are we going?" I asked, as I quickly put on the most comfortable shoes I had.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore, now would it?" he asked, smiling at me a little. "Come, we have to hurry before your parents wake up. I asked Alice to act like you where going shopping with her. But if they see me leave with you, they'll ask questions."

And I knew how much Dustfinger hated questions.

"Okay, okay, I'm hurrying." I said, quickly fixing my hair into a ponytail. If we were going to walk a lot, this would be more practical.

I moved toward him, and he took my hand, gently pulling me after him. The feeling of his hand against mine made my heart race, and once again I thought about how stupid I was. We had already kissed. Why was I so sensitive about his touch?

He moved down the stairs quietly, but as soon as I put one foot on the old wood, it made a noise , loud enough to wake Mo and Resa if there weren't in a deep sleep. We both stopped to listen.

We were lucky. Nothing in the house moved. They were still asleep. He looked at me, and I smiled an apology. What now? I was so clumsy, I would probably fall down the stairs if I wasn't careful. The answer to our problem was quickly found.

Dustfinger just picked me up onto his arms, and then quickly carried me down the stairs, still making almost no noise at all. One day he was going to have to teach me how he did it, if I wasn't too hopeless. Which I probably was.

At the door he let me back down onto the floor. He had carried me a lot further then he had to, and for some reason, it made me blush.

After we left the house, he led me out of the city, onto a dirt road that passed through fields.

We talked about everything that came into our mind, even about the prom, if only a few minutes. It wasn't the favorite topic, neither for me nor for him. For him, because I was going with Bryan and for me because I simply didn't like the prom. Everybody was too excited about it.

The road led us into a forest I had never noticed before. Had I been blind or had I lost track of time and walked so far that I couldn't have known the forest? I wasn't about to ask. I didn't want to disturb the perfect aura between us.

We continued to walk for a while, until he suddenly stopped and put the backpack he had carried the whole way down.

"You trust me, right princess?" he asked, as he pulled out some kind of material. It wasn't until he approached me with it, that I realized it was something to cover my eyes and rob me of my sight.

I was slightly uncomfortable with the idea of not being able to see, but then I gave a nod. "Yes. I trust you."

"Then don't move. And don't get scared. I'm going to carry you the last few steps. I don't want you to fall and hurt yourself." Gently he but the piece of cloth around my eyes and tied the ends together at the back of my head.

Then I felt his strong arms around me, picking me up and carrying me to our destination. He only carried me a little while, before he let me back onto the ground. I could hear water, birds singing... and I felt warm sunlight on my face.

I felt his warm, rough hands softly stroking my arm, before he took of the blindfold.

The sun stung my eyes a little, so I had to blink twice before I was able to look around. What I saw took my breath away.

We stood at a clearing in the middle of the wood. Flowers in almost every color covered the floor, mixed with dark green gras. A little stream made it's way through the clearing and disappeared somewhere in the woods. All in all the beauty war overwhelming.

"...How did you find this?" I asked, as he laid his arms around my waist, and pulled me up against his chest. I couldn't stop looking at everything, scared that I would miss something.

"I found it when I ran away from you." he said, and his voice was like music to me. "I thought you'd like it. It' just as beautiful as you."

His words made me blush a deep red, and I turned around, wrapped my arms around his neck, and planted a soft kiss on his lips.

"Stop charming me. I'm already in love with you enough." I said, smiling a little. "Let's sit down for a while. I'm tired." The walk had been quite exhausting and I wanted to rest.

"Of course princess. Wait a second." Dustfinger laid the backpack on the floor, and then took of his coat, laying it on the floor. "Here you go princess. Sit down."

"You didn't have to do that Dustfinger. I can sit on the floor." I said, not really wanting to dirty his coat.

Dustfinger just smiled at me, his crooked smiled that won me over every single time. I wondered if the smile had the same effect on everybody, or if I was just a huge pushover.

"Just sit down." he said, and waited until I did what he said. Then he sat down next to me, taking the backpack in his hands. He got out two water bottles and some sandwiches with peanut butter and jelly.

"You really do like eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, don't you?" I asked, smiling and opening a bottle to drink.

"I do. It tastes sweet. Almost like the beery's back home." he explained, taking a sandwich. His comment made me flinch.

Dustfinger had missed his home like crazy the first 10 years or so. But I had been under the impression that it had gotten better. Had I been wrong all allonge?

Suddenly I felt an arm laid around my shoulder, and he pulled me to his side. I laid my head on his shoulder, enjoying his unique smell. He always smelled like earth, nature... and fire. The smell stuck to him, or maybe to his clothes.

We sat in silence for a while, both eating and drinking, and then just resting. I could hear his heartbeat, beating a little faster then it should. Somehow I had the feeling it was matching mine. Was he just as nervous and excited as I was? If he was, his face didn't show it.

_Well duh Meggie. His face never shows anything. That's never going to change._

There was nothing I could do but ask.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked, turning my gave to his face. He smiled a little, and then gave me a kiss.

"I'm thinking about us." he answered. "About the fact that I am an old man and you a young girl. That your parents will kill me. That anybody else could sue me. And how that all doesn't seem to matter when I'm with you."

His last words surprised me. I had started to become depressed after he started listing everything that could go wrong. But with the last sentence, he made it all go away, even more. My heart felt warm and light.

I was _happy._

"Do you think we can make it?" I asked, placing one hand on his chest, nuzzling my head against his shoulder.

"I pray we do." was all he answered.

"So you're giving me a chance?" I asked, my heart pounding against my chest. _Please say yes. __**Please.**_

"No." he answered and my heart sunk. "I'm giving **us** a chance."

It was all I needed to hear. I kissed him, kissed him so passionately like never before. He gently laid me on the floor, kissing me again and again, until my lips were swollen and felt a little numb.

"Are you still going to the prom with that jerk?" he then asked, softly grazing my cheek with his hand.

"Yes. I have to. I won't find anybody else. Everybody else already has a date." I sighted, stealing another kiss from him. I knew he was unhappy, but I didn't have a choice.

"I don't like that he'll get to dance with you. And touch you." he said, laying his head on my chest. The touch made a shiver run through my body, and I could feel my nipples hardening. Dustfinger either didn't notice or didn't comment. We both knew it was to early to even _think_ about anything in this area.

"I promise I'll take care of myself." Although something told me that I wasn't going to be the only one. Somehow I was pretty sure that Dustfinger would keep an eye on me, following me unnoticed like the shadow he could be.

"If not, I will make him pay." he breathed, planting a little kiss on my throat. I giggled.

"Your beard tickles." I said, smiling at him lovingly. I hadn't ever been so happy like right now. Here I was in this beautiful place, with the man I loved, and I could finally be with him. He was finally mine.

I felt his lips against the skin of my throat again, this time licking and sucking a little. A soft moan escaped my lips.

"What are you doing?" I breathed, as he moved back and smiled at me.

"I marked you as mine." he answered, softly brushing his fingers over the skin he had just worked on.

"You gave me a hickey?" I asked in disbelieve. "Mo's going to kill me! He says hickeys are stupid!"

"I don't care." Dustfinger simple said. "You are mine now. And I will let everybody know that you have a man. Even if I can't tell them it's me."

I thought about his words for a second. He was right. I had a _man. _Not a boy. A _**man.**_ It was probably normal that Dustfinger was so possessive and protecting. He wasn't like the stupid little boys I knew. He was more mature.

"Okay... but only one." I answered, smiling at him and running my fingers through his hair. "I love you Dustfinger."

"I love you too princess." he answered, and laid his head back down.

Hours seemed to pass, until he got up and said "We should go back now. It's time."

I didn't want to go. I wanted to stay with him, be with him, feel and kiss him. I just wanted to spend time with him. But I knew I couldn't stay in my little world forever. There was an outside world waiting for me. And I had no choice but to return to it, if I wanted to keep my personal world safe.

The way back was more exhausting then the way there. My feet hurt, and I was tired. My pace grew slower with the time, and Dustfinger matched my pace without a word. I knew he could have walked faster, since he walked everywhere. But I wasn't used to walking this far of a distance.

Finally, Dustfinger stopped and said "Here, take the backpack." Confused I took the backpack and put it on my back.

"Get on my back." he said, and I stared at him.

"I don't think so. I'm way to heavy Dustfinger. It's okay, I can make it." I hastily said. I didn't want him to have to carry me again.

"Meggie, I know you could. I don't doubt that. But it will get dark in a few hours, and we are still far from the street. We need to walk faster, or we'll get lost. So please just get on my back."

"No!" I said, and kept walking, faster then before. I could hear him sigh behind me, but I didn't care. I was to proud to be carried again. _I'm to heavy anyway. He'd have to put me down in a few minutes._

So, we kept walking. Soon I wished I had just gotten on his back.

The darkness came quicker then I thought, and laid around us like curtain, until I couldn't even see the way in front of me. I stumbled and almost fell once, if Dustfinger hadn't caught me.

I sighted, and leaned against his chest.

"Dustfinger?" I asked, my voice shy.

"Yes, princess?" he asked, softly stroking my back a little.

"I'm sorry I was so stubborn. Now we have to wait for the morning, right?" I asked, looking up to see his face. In the darkness I couldn't see very good, so it was impossible to read his face. Not that it was ever possible. Now it was just... even more impossible.

"Yes, we have to wait." he answered, sighting a little and giving me a kiss on the head. "We'll be okay. I think I know a small clearing here. I can make fire for us."

"Okay." I felt guilty. It was my fault that we were now stuck in the forest at night, with bugs and dangerous animals. And it was my fault that Mo and Resa and probably Alice too would be worried sick. I had done a great job.

He took my hand and led me to a very small clearing. "Stay right here." he said, and then disappeared into the woods.

I was scared, and cold, and didn't dare to move or even breath to loudly. Now the wood's were a lot scarier then when we had walked trough it the first time, and I was glad that Dustfinger returned only minutes later.

He laid something on the floor, rubbed his hands together, and let the flame jump onto the wood, soon creating a fire.

"Sit down princess. I need some more wood to keep it going all night." he said, and covered me over with his coat as I sat down next to the fire.

"You're going to be cold!" I protested, but he just smiled at me in a way that made me feel childish and a little stupid.

"Honey, I have been through far worse. Don't worry. I'll be back soon." and with that he walked back into the woods.

I could hear the crickets around me, he sound of the firewood crackling, and the sound of the wind playing with the branches of the tree's surrounding me. I wasn't really scared. But I was relieved when Dustfinger was back, laying a lot of firewood next to us, far away from the fire so it would jump over and burn all wood at once.

"You okay princess?" he asked as he sat down next to me, smiling a little. I wondered if he really didn't mind the situation this much or if he was just acting. Dustfinger loved acting. But usually when he was mad, it was easy to tell.

"I'm fine." I answered, a little short. I was angry at myself for being such a brat, and getting us into trouble. I felt his arm around me one again, and he pulled me close to him.

"You should sleep." he said, softly stroking my hair. I was a little tired, I had to admit... but I didn't want to sleep while he was awake.

"I'm okay." I answered, pressing a kiss against his chest. "I want to stay up with you a little longer."

"Just make sure you get enough sleep so we can make it home tomorrow, okay?" he answered, smiling warily at me. He was probably tired to... I sighted. Sometimes, I really was a stupid little know-it-all.

"I will." I answered, and sighted a little as he kissed me again. Even in the middle of the wood's, at night, surrounded by bugs (that scare the hell out of me by the way) and dangerous animals... in Dustfingers arm's, I felt safe.

We talked for another hour, until I finally feel asleep, leaning on his chest. His heartbeat and even breathing had made me tired, and listening to his voice had soothed my mind to a state that it was impossible to stay awake. So I soon was in dreamland... dreaming of the man that had his arms laid around me.

Dustfinger woke me up just as the sun started to rise. The fire had burnt down, and Dustfinger had probably put it out with the rest of the water we had.

"Ready to go?" he asked me after a few minutes, and I nodded, still a little sleepy.

We started walking, and after a few hours, reached the street. I don't think I had ever been happier to see my house in my whole life.

Dustfinger smiled a little, and lightly touched my back, before he said "I think your parents are going to kill me."

Only seconds later Mo came running out of the house, followed by Alice and Resa. He hugged me so hard it almost hurt me. Then he let me go, and immediately Resa and Alice were hugging me.

"Dustfinger!" he snapped, and his voice sounded weird to my ears. I had never heard him so upset... "Where did you take here?! What were you doing?!"

I felt my stomach twist. What was Dustfinger going to tell them?

"I'm sorry. I took her for a walk and we got surprised by the dark." he calmly said.

"A WALK?!" Mo barked. "Where did you walk to? Why was it so far away?"

"Into the woods." Dustfinger simply answered.

"The **woods**?!" Mo echoed, staring at him in disbelieve. "Why would you take her into the woods? She's just a child! Since when do you take her places? And why did Alice lie about it?"

"Mo please." I said, carefully pushing away Alice and Resa. "I asked him to take me there! It was my fault."

Dustfinger looked at me. He was going to let me lie for him, I knew that.

"Why would you want to go into the woods?!" Mo asked, slowly calming down. I knew how to calm him down.

"He told me about some baby bunny's. I wanted to see them." I explained. Okay, maybe not the best lie considering I was 17 and didn't really like bunny rabbits, but I was sure Mo would buy it.

"Oh Meggie..." he finally said, and hugged me tightly. "Please tell me next time. We would have all come."

"I'm sorry Dad. I promise I'll tell you next time." I said, and hugged him as well. I could see Dustfinger move in the corner of my eye, and I turned my head to watch him. He walked over to Resa and Alice, and started talking.

"Let's go inside." Mo finally said, and I nodded. I was tired, and all I wanted to do was take a shower, eat something and go to bed. So that's what I did. Alice had gone home too, just as tired as me.

I walked into the bathroom and undressed, letting my dirty clothes fall to the floor. The hot water was wonderful, loosening the knots in my back and soothing my aching body. I was never going to sleep on the floor again. How did Dustfinger manage to do it all the time and not hurt every morning?

After 20 minutes I finally felt somewhat clean and got out of the shower. I looked around and realized I had forgotten to get new clothes. There was no big towel I could wrap my body in, only a small one, that if I was lucky I could wrap around my lower region.

So that's what I did. I wrapped the towel around me, and quickly walked into my room, praying that nobody would see me. Resa and Mo were probably downstairs, and Dustfinger... well I didn't really know, but I was pretty sure he was somewhere outside. He didn't spend much time inside.

I opened the door to my bedroom, and thought I was going to have a heart attack. There Dustfinger was, standing at my window. He turned to face me, and what he saw made him blush deeply and stop his movement.

We both stood there paralyzed for a few minutes before he walked over to me, closed the door and pulled me close to his body. I was shocked... but my body started tingling. His body pressed mine against the all, and suddenly his lips were on mine.

His kisses were needy, full of passion and love. My hands tangled into his hair, pulling him closer. I didn't want him to leave me. But then he suddenly stopped, pulled back .

"I can't do this..." he breathed, and then rushed out the door.

My body suddenly felt cold. Not because I was wearing almost nothing. It was a cold that spread from my heart to every part of my body. What did he mean...? Why couldn't he kiss me?

I slowly got dressed in my Pj's, and walked down into the kitchen were Mo and Resa were already waiting for me.

"Resa made you some food." Mo softly said. "You should eat and go to bed. You look exhausted."

I nodded slightly, and started eating even though I was barely able to swallow. Mo and Resa stayed with me until I was done, obviously worried about me. I finally got up and went to my room.

Dustfinger's words stuck to my mind, and I couldn't stop thinking about them. What did he mean? I turned my face to look into the mirror. I was looking more like my mother every day.

That's when it hit me. I looked like my mother. The woman Dustfinger had loved. Was it that? Did he still love my mother? Was that the reason why he couldn't kiss me?

Tears rolled down my cheek. He saw my mother in me. Where he couldn't have her... he took me. Everything that was impossible to do with her, he did with me. And now the guilt had made him stop.

I don't think I had ever felt so bad before in my whole life.


	4. Chapter 4

_Okay, so first of all: Sorry that it's taken me so long to update. I was very sick and wasn't able to write. I'm feeling better recently, and I hope it stays that way, so I can update more regularly._

_Enjoy the story._

The next time I saw Dustfinger, it was me who avoided him. He wanted to talk to me after breakfast, but I told him that I had a lot of studying to do. The truth was I didn't want to hear him tell me the truth. That he loved my mother.

Dustfinger looked at me as if he knew. I bet he probably did. He knew I was running from him, and I knew he wasn't going to let me run for too long. So I quickly went back to my room, picking up my math book from the floor and letting myself fall on my bed.

I opened it, slowly flipping through the pages, looking for something that I could study. Or at least pretend to study. My thoughts were all circling around Dustfinger. I had never felt this stupid.

But what if I was wrong? What if I was just being paranoid, and childish? Maybe he had just realized that it wasn't the time. Or he just didn't like me in that way.

A knock on the door let me snap back into the real world. I knew who it was. Who else could it be? I could almost picture Dustfinger standing on the other side of the door, his head slightly bowed, unsure of what he was supposed to do or say.

After a deep breath, I said "Come in." I watched as the door slowly opened, before Dustfinger slipped in and closed it behind himself.

"Hey." he said, an awkward smile on his face. He was uncomfortable, I could tell by the way he had his hands buried in his pockets.

"Hey." I answered, slowly closing the book lying in front of me.

"Meggie... I'm sorry." he said, sitting down on my bed. I didn't know why, but I felt like scooting away from him. It was weird, normally I wanted to be as close to him as I could, but right now it felt wrong.

"About what?" I asked, my voice high and pressed. "For running out on me or using me as an replacement for my mom?"

Dustfinger's face froze. "You think that's the reason I ran?" he asked, his voice so cold it sent chills up my back. He slowly stood up, and I wanted to pull him back. But I couldn't. Somehow my body didn't move.

"Is there another explanation?" I asked, surprised at how mean my voice sounded. I didn't know I could sound so... malicious.

Dustfinger didn't turn to look at me. He didn't speak. He starred at the door. Maybe he was thinking about leaving. Run from me as he ran from everything in life that was too complicated. I watched his back, waiting to see what he would do.

_Prove yourself. Prove you love me. Stay, and put up with me. _

Dustfinger stood there for another minute before he turned around and looked at me. I felt triumph. I had made him do something that was against his nature. I had the power to make him stay.

_I'm a horrible person._ The thought shot through my head before I could stop it. Was I really such a beast? Trying to control him? Show how much power I had over him, and hurting him in the progress, just to prove to myself that he really cared?

"You've got it all wrong Meggie." he finally said, running his slender fingers through his hair. "Of course you're not the replacement for your mother. I love you, and you alone."

His words were like magic, healing an aching wound that had hurt my heart all along. I hadn't even noticed it until he had healed it. I had been blind.

But still I couldn't bring myself to forgive him, not just yet. I had to hear one more thing.

"Then why did you run?" Dustfinger gave a bitter laugh, and I looked at him puzzled. Had I said something funny?

"Meggie, it's so obvious I can't blame you for not seeing." he said, sitting down on the bed again, and this time I moved towards him. I wanted to know what I didn't see.

"Tell me." I demanded, and stared at him.

"Oh Meggie. You are so... naive." he sighted. "It's nothing bad. It's just... I'm an old man, and you are such a pure little girl. I don't want to take your innocence. It's just not right. And when you stand there, undressed... I just can't do that to you Meggie."

It took me a few seconds to understand what he was saying. It made me happy. Very happy.

"I love you." I simply said, giving him a sweet kiss. He was being so sweet, thinking about nobody but me. He loved me. He had proved it.

"I love you too." he answered, a little surprised by my reaction. "I hope you can somehow... understand."

"I can. I'll be good and wait until I'm 18 if you want me to." I said, leaning against his chest. "But you don't have to hold back because of me." I could feel myself blush. When had I started being so blunt?

"Meggie..." was all Dustfinger said, before he gently wrapped his arm around my shoulder, holding me close.

I giggled a little, and looked up at Dustfinger. He was smiling, and his smile made me smile. I had never been this happy, in my whole life.

"So, the prom is this Friday, right?" Dustfinger asked, not looking so happy anymore.

"Yeah." I answered, giving him a small kiss. I had to calm him down... I hated it when he was so upset. "But I promise, nothing will happen."

Dustfinger gave a slight nod, and then slowly and unwillingly let go of me.

"What are you doing?" I asked, pouting a little. Dustfinger gave me one of his crooked smiles, that made me feel like I was 10 again, and had no idea what the hell was going on.

"I better get going now. Your parents are waiting for me downstairs. They'll get suspicious if I stay up here for too long." I knew he was right.

"I hate that we have to keep this a secret." I said, sighting and laying down on my bed again.

"So do I, but until you are off age, we don't have a choice." he answered, kneeling down beside me. He slowly took my hand into his, and placed a soft kiss on the back of my hand. "And then, who knows..."

I felt like I had a heart attack. Was he actually implying what I though he was?! There was **no** way.

Dustfinger gave a small chuckle, noticing my confusion, and then stood up.

"I will see you soon princess." he said, and then left. I looked after him for a while, sighting heavily. Everything was such a secret... suddenly my cell rang. Quickly jumping up I had it in my hands only seconds later, and answered.

"Hello?"

"Meggie, do you think I should dye my hair?" Alice asked. I blinked.

"Why would you want to do that?" I slowly sat back down on my bed.

"Well, you know... I want to look special for the prom. And I've always had black hair So maybe, I thought, I could dye it blond. You know, like yours?"

There it was. The prom. The source of all evil. At least, that was my opinion.

"Alice, look. I love your black hair. It's shiny and beautiful, and it looks really good with your eyes. You know black and blue look awesome together. And if you died it blond, your skin would look weird, because your so pale. Plus, you'd have to bleach your hair, and that would just break it."

"Hm. Maybe your right." she said, sighting a little. "Soo, how's it going with our best friend?"

"...Tell me the truth, that's why you called, didn't you?" I asked, slightly frowning.

"Hell yeah. So, give me all the details."

So, I told her about the fight, and that we made up.

"So much drama." she said, and I could practically see her shaking her head.

"And you love it, admit it." I answered, grinning a little.

"It's oh so beautiful." she answered, laughing. "You think he'll follow you to the prom?"

I hadn't even thought of that.

"I don't think so. It's not like he could watch me, he can't get inside." I said, trying to get rid of the worry I now felt.

"We're talking about Dustfinger, remember? The guy that appears out of nowhere, walks so fast and so quiet that nobody ever notices, and disappears into thin air when there's danger." Alice threw in.

...Damn, I was screwed.

"You really think he'd follow me?" I asked.

"I really think I will." Dustfinger suddenly said, his face right next to mine.

He caught me off guard, I screamed, and dropped my cell. But even with the cell lying on the floor, I could still hear Alice scream.

Dustfinger starred at me, and then at the phone, before bursting into laughter.

"You'd think you two would have gotten used to that now." he snickered, slowly sitting down on my bed.

"Oh you are _such _a showoff." I mumbled, picking up the phone and sitting down next to him. "Okay Alice. I'll call you later about the prom-stuff."

"Okay. Have fun with loverboy." then she hung up.

"One day..." I mumbled, looking back at him "I'm going to kill both of you. Stop sneaking up on me like that! I'm gonna die of a heart attack if you keep going like this."

"Naw, you're young. You'll make it." he said, winking at me. I rolled my eye's, and then snuggled up to his chest. "I'll try not to do it again. But I was already being loud."

"Oh sush. Don't show off. Kiss me." I said, giving him a cheeky smile. He gently brought his lips to mine, kissing me softly. I gave a sigh, and snuggled up against him.

"I missed you." I said, smiling a little.

"I wasn't even gone 15 minutes." he answered, laughing.

"I don't care. I missed you."

He smiled.

"I missed you too. You feel like going on an adventure tonight?" he then asked. "I promise you'll like it."

I gave a huge smile.

"Sure! When?"

"I'll pick you up at midnight princess. Until then, I've got some things too do. I'll see you then." and with that, once again, he disappeared.


	5. Chapter 5

_So, it took me really long to write this chapter, since I've had a lot of things to do and a lot of stuff going on in my life. I'm sorry I made you wait so long, and I hope that you can forgive me ;3_

_Enjoy the story_

It was 10 when I heard a knock on my door. Confused, I got up and walked over, opening the door just a little bit so I could see who it was.

I saw Dustfinger, and quickly opened the door, wanting to say something when I noticed something that made me stop. Dustfinger was holding his side, breathing heavily, and he looked pained even though he smiled at me.

"Dustfinger, what's wrong?" I asked, as I let him in. He closed the door behind himself and then slid down to the floor. I was scared, so scared I didn't realize that I was already on my knees, sitting next to him.

"I'm sorry princess.." he said, his voice barely over a whisper "I think we have to move the surprise to some other day."

"Why? What's wrong?" I asked, trying to swallow the lump in my throat. It didn't work.

"I got in trouble." he whispered, biting his lower as if he wanted to stop himself from making a sound. Carefully, I took away the hand he was clutching his side with, and pulled back his coat. What I saw almost made me faint.

His white shirt was soaked with blood, his hand was full of it, and the stain seemed to grow with every second that passed.

"Oh my god..." I whispered, tears in my eyes. "Oh god Dustfinger! What happened?!"

"Don't cry princess..." he said, giving me his crooked smile before he closed his eyes. "Don't cry because of me..."

"Don't talk." I said, my voice cracking as I put one arm around his back, sliding him to the side so I could open the door again. I was panicking on the inside, but I knew I had to stay calm. I had to help him.

I quickly opened the door, and yelled "Mo! Call an ambulance, Dustfinger is really hurt!" My voice cracked again, and I sat down next to Dustfinger, who was gripping his side again.

"I'll take care of you." I said, pushing back the tears I wanted to cry. Dustfinger gave a small laugh.

"I should be the one taking care of you." he said, his voice so weak I could barely understand what he was saying. He raised his hand, placing it on his cheek. His skin was ice cold, and I almost moved back, but then I laid my hand on his.

"Don't talk..." I said again, and closed my eyes. I couldn't take how he looked, so hurt, so broken, so... different. "Please, you have to stop talking..."

"I love you princess." he said. Then his hand slipped from my cheek and fell to the floor. Everything that happened after this was a blur.

I could see Mo run into my room, picking up Dustfinger and carrying him down the stairs. I followed automatically, watching as Dustfinger was put in the ambulance. I felt my mother hug me, I heard Mo talking to me, but I didn't understand one word he said.

I felt them drag me to the car, felt my mother's warm arms around me, holding me tight. But nothing reached me. It was like I was dreaming.

5 hours we sat in the hospital, waiting for the doctor to come out and tell us what had happened. Dustfinger had to be operated, and all I could do was wait. My love was wounded, in pain, and there was nothing I could do. Never had I felt so helpless.

When the doctor came out, I looked at him. His face showed nothing. It scared me.

"Is he going to be okay?" Mo asked, and I felt my mom's hand tighten around my shoulder. As if she was trying to protect me.

"He lost a lot of blood." the doctor started, and I felt my blood freeze. "But we could repair the damage. He's in recovery right now, and he'll be pretty out of it, but he'll be okay."

The words were like sunshine after a cold and hard winter. Dustfinger would be okay. He wouldn't die. I heard a sobbing sound, and it took a few seconds for me to realize that it was me, sobbing and crying. I felt so relieved that I almost felt light headed.

"When can I see him?" I asked, slowly standing up. The doctor gave me a small smile.

"You can see him right away, but he's sedated. He won't wake up for another hour." he answered.

"I'll wait." was all I said. "Can you take me to him please?"

The doctor nodded, and I looked at my parents. My father still seemed shocked, but my mother gave me a weird look. As if she was trying to find out something. As if she thought something was off. I quickly turned from her, and followed the doctor.

He opened the door to a small room. Dustfinger was pail, so pail it almost looked like he was dead. His breaths were slow and deep. He was wired to a machine that showed his heart beat, and I was happy when I saw how steady and strong it was.

I pulled a chair up to his bed, and sat down. I knew I couldn't take his hand, because that would have been to obvious. Dustfinger didn't want my parent's to know, and I had the feeling that I needed to stick to that. So I just sat there, watching him, waiting for him to wake up.

My parents sat next to me, Mo pacing a little before he settled down next to my mother. He was nervous, I could tell. Dustfinger was a friend, and he meant something to Mo.

When he opened his eyes, I felt my breath hitch. He blinked a few times, and then looked around. He saw me, and gave a small smile. Then he looked at my parents.

"Hey princess... Mo... Resa... Sorry for giving you guys such a shock." he said, his voice quiet, but stronger then before. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"What happened?" Mo asked, speaking the words I had on my mind.

Dustfinger gave his crooked smile. "I got in a fight with two men. I was walking around town, and they jumped out at me, demanding money. I didn't have any, and I told them so. They got upset. One pulled out a knife, and stabbed me with it. I was too slow to dodge it, since the other was keeping me busy. After he stabbed me, I got very angry and... well you know what happens when I get angry."

"...Did you hurt them?" Mo asked, his voice shaking ever so slightly.

"I burnt the hell out of the one guy's hand, and I think I might have burnt the other man's jacket. But they ran away and seemed okay." he answered.

"Okay..." Mo answered, rubbing his temples. "Okay. I... the doctor said you'd be okay. You have to stay here until Thursday, and after that you need to rest for a few days. No working, no long walks, no sneaking around."

Dustfinger gave a sigh. "It's not that bad."

"It's bad enough." Mo answered, before he stood up. "We have to go home. It's way past visiting hours, and we all need some sleep, including you. We'll be back tomorrow."

I couldn't say anything, couldn't speak, just look at him. But I knew it didn't matter. I knew he understood. My parents walked out of the room, and I had to follow them, knowing that if I wouldn't, they would be suspicious. I had no other choice then to leave with them, and leave my love behind, knowing only that I could see him again tomorrow.

The next few days were like torture. I sat in school and counted every minute. When school was out, I would pack up my things and drive to the hospital with my bike. It took me a while to get there, but I needed to see Dustfinger. I needed to spend as much time with him as I could.

Sometimes my parents would already be there, so all I could do was talk to him. But when they weren't I held his hand every minute, and we exchanged small kisses. He was still weak, and I knew he needed to rest.

The day he came home, Mo had told him that he would stay with us for two weeks, so that he could make sure Dustfinger got the rest he needed. Dustfinger didn't oppose. This way I could be close to him even more then usual, even though it was just for two weeks.

I had totally forgotten the prom until Alice asked me what earrings I would wear on Friday morning. I blinked twice and realized the prom was tomorrow night.

"You forgot." she stated, giving me a small smile. "That's fine. If you don't have any, I'd like to show you these..."

Alice pulled something from her bag, and put it in my hand. I was holding a small box, and as I opened it, I stared in disbelieve.

"Alice, you can't be serious... these belonged to-"

"To my dead mom, yes, I know." she said, and then just smiled. "Meggie, you are my best friend, the best friend I could ever wish for. And I want to show you that you mean a lot to me. Please wear them? They go perfectly with your dress."

I was at a loss for words. I had tears in my eyes, as I hugged her as tight as I could.

"You are the worlds best friend." I said, before letting her go. "Thank you, so much Alice. Really."

Alice just smiled and said "You don't have to thank me. I'm so happy you'll wear them. Plus, now you might even think about the prom." For the first time in days I laughed.

Mo picked me up from school and brought me home, but then left with my mother. He said something about a appointment, but I didn't really care. He said it could take a while, and that meant that I could be alone with Dustfinger for more then just a few minutes.

I walked into his room, in which he always slept when he came here, and closed the door behind me. Dustfinger was laying on the bed, and smiled as I came in.

"Hey princess. How was school?"

"It was good." I said, walking to his bed, and crawling next to him. He looked at me a little unsettled. "My parent's aren't here." I added. He relaxed.

"So, you looking forward to the prom?" he asked, as he laid his hand around my shoulder carefully. I knew he still felt pain when he moved to much, and so I carefully placed my head on his shoulder, avoiding touching his side.

"Not really." I answered, sighting, and closing my eyes. "I missed you so much."

"I was here the whole time princess." he said, smiling. "But I know what you mean. I missed you too." He gently pressed a kiss on my forehead. "I hate that you're going to this dance."

"I'm sorry." I mumbled. "But it really is a big deal. And Alice really wants me to go. She... she gave me a pair of earrings that belonged to her mother."

"Belonged? Did her mom leave?" he asked. I shook my head.

"She died in a car accident, when Alice was 12." I said, snuggling up to him.

"Then you carry a great honor." he answered, his hand stroking my shoulder. "You should wear them with pride."

"I will." I said, lifting my head and stealing a real kiss from him. I couldn't get enough of him. After almost loosing him, I felt even more addicted to him then before. I needed him. More than I needed anything else in my life.

The kiss was sweet, and innocent. But then I felt his hand on the back of my head, felt him deepen the kiss. His tongue slipped between my teeth, ravishing my mouth and then finally capturing my tongue. I pressed myself against him, all to glad to be kissed this way. It was just what I needed.

We kept kissing, but then the hand disappeared from the back of my head. I felt it creep under my top, gently touch the skin on my back and travel upwards. It made me shudder, and I almost broke the kiss with a small moan. But Dustfinger didn't let me escape, pressing his lips to mine with more force.

His hand reached my neck, and then went back down. I couldn't help moaning ever so quietly when he touched a sensitive spot. He seemed to like it, letting a low growl escape from his throat. Suddenly he turned us around, and now I was below him. He kept kissing my, letting his hand roam over the skin of my stomach, his other hand supporting himself. The further his hand slipped upwards, the faster my breathing got.

His fingertips reached my bra, and I gasped. I could feel his hand glide over my bra, felt my nipples hardening, as I arched up, trying to get him to touch me more. His hand went back down and then slipped under my bra, carefully touching my breasts. I moaned, pushing my body up against his, searching for more contact. His lips had made their way to my throat, nibbling and kissing my skin.

"Dustfinger..." I breathed, gripping his hair at the back of his head and forcing him down so I could kiss him again. His fingertips reached my nipple, and he started circling it, before he took it between his index and thumb, rubbing it between them. I groaned with pleasure, feeling the part between my leg's grow wet.

As soon as my nipple was as hard as it could be, he treated my other nipple the same way. At this point I was moaning with please, barely able to breath properly. My world had reduced to him, once again, but this time in a very different way.

I was just about to tell him to take of my top and bra, when the doorbell rang. Dustfinger growled, but then pulled back.

"You should get that..." he said, biting his lip and laying back down.

"I don't want to" I said, still trying to catch my breath.

"I know you don't want to, and I don't want you to either. But you should." he said. I knew that he would not continue what he had started now that we had been interrupted, so I just nodded and got up. I walked to the front door and opened it. On the inside I wanted to scream.

Bryan stood before me, smiling. I never disliked him so much in my life then in this moment.

"Hey Meggie." he said, and I forced a smile to my face. "Can I come in? I promise it won't take long."

"Uh... sure." I stepped to the side and closed the door behind him. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to ask you, when I should pick you up tomorrow." he said, smiling at me.

"Oh.. well, the prom starts at 8, how about you pick me up at 7.3o?" I said, smiling a little.

"Sounds fine." he answered. "Oh and we're not walking. I've got a surprise for you."

"Oh?" I asked, and blinked. "What is it?"

"Well, if I tell you it's not a surprise anymore is it?" he said. "You know Meggie, you... I still really like you. And you know that. Why... why don't you just give us a try? I mean, you can't seriously be dating that old guy!"

"Bryan, please. We've been over this. I... I don't like you in that way." I said, shaking my head a little. "And who I date or not is none of your business. Really."

"Yes, it is! Meggie, something is wrong with him if he's dating a 17-year old! How old is he?" he asked, walking toward me. I backed away.

"Bryan please..." I said "Please just let it go."

"I can't!" he said, coming closer and closer. I backed away but then felt the wall behind me. "I can't let you go with that pervert!"

"He's not a pervert!" I said, growing angry. "Back off Bryan!"

"No!" he almost yelled, putting his hands at either side of my head. "You deserve better! I can give you everything he can, and I'm your age!"

I was about to say something when I heard the stairs creak. Dustfinger stood only a few steps away, breathing heavily with anger. His one hand was gripping the railing, the other one was curled into a fist.

"Get off her." he said, his voice quiet, but dangerous.

"And what if I don't?" Bryan snapped, staring at Dustfinger. "What are you going to do huh?!"

"Bryan please! Just leave!" I begged, but Bryan didn't budge.

"You want to know what I'm going to do?" Dustfinger asked, moving down the stairs slowly. Bryan still didn't move.

"Bryan please!" I said, scared of both Bryan and Dustfinger. Scared of Bryan because he was being so pushy. Scared of Dustfinger because of the expression on his face. "Dustfinger! Don't do it! Please!"

"Yeah I want to know." Bryan said, finally taking a step back. But he didn't walk away. He turned to Dustfinger, a smug smile on his face. "Are you going to throw you're false teeth at me grandpa?"

Dustfinger was in front of Bryan so quick I didn't realize what happened. His hands were on fire as he pushed Bryan against the wall. Bryan was screaming in fear, but Dustfinger didn't back off. Bryan's clothes caught fire, and he screamed even more.

"You EVER touch her again, and I swear to God that I will hunt you down, and kill you..." he whispered. Then he let go, pulling back the fire with him. "That's what I'll do."

Bryan looked at me in shock, before turning and running out of the door. I stared at Dustfinger. I had never, ever seen him like this before. He looked back and we were silent for a few minutes. Then he finally spoke.

"You just saw the dark side of a man's love Meggie. I will not share you. I will not put you in danger. I will care for you, I will protect you. But I am also jealous." he said. "My love cannot be compared to the love of a teenager. Remember that Meggie. Remember that I am dangerous when ever anything concerns you."

He walked up to me, giving me a small kiss on the forehead before saying "I'm sorry I scared you. Come to me, when you have calmed down. By then I will have too."

I watched him walk up the stairs, and for the first time, I was more afraid of him then I loved him.


	6. Chapter 6

It took me a long time to calm down. I had never seen Dustfinger like that, never in my life. He had never been so angry, and it scared me.

On the other hand, he was right. His love was not the love of a childish teenager. He was a man, and he would expect things from me that Bryan wouldn't. Not that that bothered me. The only thing that did worry me was his jealousy. I hadn't thought it to be so bad, but now I realized that he would protect me with everything he had. He would fight for me.

It flattered me in a way. He would do anything to keep me safe. He would never put me in danger. But it could be dangerous. Not only for him, but for whoever he felt threatened by. Not that I had a lot of admirers, only Bryan actually, and Dustfinger himself, but maybe something similar would happen sometime in the future.

The next question was, what was I going to do about tomorrow? I needed a date for the prom, but I was pretty sure that Bryan would not take me anymore, to scared. Just then my cell phone rang, and I received a text message from Bryan.

_'Hey, sorry for being so pushy. I still want to go to the prom with you. I'll pick you up tomorrow. I won't do anything, I swear._

_Bryan'_

I gave a big sigh... at least one problem less. I was still going to the prom. I wrote him a quick SMS to tell him it was okay, and then I put my cell away. But how was I going to tell Dustfinger that I was still going with Bryan? I made my way up to his room, knocking on the door first.

"Come in." he said, and his voice was just as gentle and soft as always. I walked in, still uncertain.

"It's okay. I've calmed down. Please come and sit with me." he said, smiling a little, and scooting a little to the side so I could sit down. I walked to the bed and sat down.

"Are you okay?" I asked, looking at his face "I mean... does your injury hurt?"

"Everything is fine." he answered, gently stroking my cheek carefully. "I'm sorry for scaring you."

I gave a small nod and then just leaned against him. We were silent, because nothing more had to be said, and I enjoyed being with him like this. Moments like these were rear, and so I tried to stay this way as long as I could.

But only an hour later my parents returned home, and as soon as they drove into the driveway, Dustfinger gently pushed me off the bed.

"Go. I will bring you to the prom tomorrow, and make sure you're okay." he said.

"..I'm still going with Bryan, you know?" I said quietly, a little scared that he would be upset at me. But instead he just gave a small nod.

"I thought so. Which is why I will take you there, and pick you up." he said, and laid back. "I think I need some sleep."

"Okay." I replied, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving his room and welcoming my parents downstairs. After that I wrote Bryan an SMS and told him to meet me in front of the

The evening went by fast, because all of the sudden I was a little excited. I didn't know how to wear my hair, what necklace I should wear and if I was going to wear a bracelet. I was up half the night finding out what I was going to wear and then finally went to bed.

I got up early, thanks to Alice who called me, babbling so fast I couldn't understand a word. I gave a small sigh, then told her to just come over in an hour, and we would do our hair, make-up and whatever else needed to be done, even though we still had hours. Alice arrived 15 minutes later.

I had just gotten out of the shower, dressed quickly, and blow-dried my hair while she paced up and down through my room, talking to fast that I only understood every third or forth word. But after about an hour she was exhausted, and just dropped herself on my bed.

"Done?" I asked.

"Done." she answered, grinning a little. "For now."

I laughed a little and then said "Let's have something to eat, or else we might faint tonight from the excitement and all." Alice quickly agreed, so we went downstairs and got something from the kitchen, carried it into my room, and sat down to talk about what we would do to our hair, ect.

The time went by, hour for hour, and I didn't even notice when the sun went down. We had talked about so many thing, so many details... everything was discussed from the jewelery we were going to wear to whatever we would wear in our hair. It was only when Dustfinger knocked on the door we realized how late it was.

"Hey sunshine, hey princess." he said. "You should get ready. You've only got two more hours until you've got to be there."

Alice jumped, checked the clock and then let out a small yelp. "Oh my god, you're right! Meggie, I'll see you at the prom okay?" and then she was gone.

Dustfinger laughed a little as he watched her run down the stairs, and then closed the door behind her.

"So, she's not excited at all is she?" he asked, grinning and looking at me. I laughed as well and sat down on the bed.

"Well, she has been talking about nothing for the last 3 weeks. She better be excited. She has a date with the guy she likes." he sat down next to me, and kissed me on the cheek.

"Well, I will be at the prom too, you just won't see me." he said, nuzzling his nose against my cheek.

"I know.." I answered and smiled "Thank you, by the way. I'm glad you'll take care of me."

"I told you I would protect you and take care of you." he answered, slowly getting up and walking to the door. "Mo will drive you there, but I will meet you before you go in, okay?"

I gave a small nod and then smiled a little. I was sad that it wasn't him that would dance with me tonight. That I couldn't show everybody how much I loved him, and how great he was. That I had to hide him. But I knew I had no other choice. I had to do it.

He left the room, and I started getting ready. I decided to leave my hair open, and just curl my hair a little bit to give my usually messy curls a more defined look. That took about 45 minutes. Then I did my make-up, which I removed twice before I was happy with the result. Then it was time for the dress and the jewelery. I pulled on the dress carefully, and then put on the earrings Alice had given to me.

My dad knocked on the door a few minutes later, ready to take me to the prom. I opened the door and he smiled.

"You look beautiful." was all he said, and I smiled a little.

"Thanks, Mo." I answered, and walked down the stairs with him. Mom was standing at the end of the stairs and gave me a hug, smiling at me. I smiled back, and Mo brought me to the car. We drove in silence, while I stared out of the window.

When I got off of the car, Mo drove away and I waited for Bryan. Well, actually for Dustfinger and then for Bryan. Only seconds after I had thought his name, Dustfinger appeared out of nowhere as always.

"You excited princess?" he asked, gently taking my hand and placing a kiss on it.

"A little." I admitted, and smiled. "But I think it will be fine."

"I know you will." he said, and gave me a small kiss. I smiled and then gave him another kiss. This time a longer, more passionate one. I was already looking forward to my 18th birthday, and by the thought of that I blushed a little, but didn't pull back from the kiss.

But then, I heard a voice.

"Meggie!" my teacher called, her voice full of horror. "Who IS that?"

I quickly pulled back and looked into the eye's of my teacher, Bryan and two policemen. I starred. This was a joke. A really sick joke.

"Is that him?" one of the policemen asked Bryan.

"Yes. That's the guy that touched me. And, as you can see, I'm not the only one." his eyes were cold as he looked at Dustfinger.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to come with me." the policeman said, taking a step toward Dustfinger, who immediately took a step back.

"Bryan!" I said "What did you do?! WHY?!" I was suddenly yelling.

Dustfinger kept moving back from the policemen, step by step, until one of them spoke.

"Sir, if you don't come with us now, we will force you."

"Force me?" he suddenly hissed. "Nobody forces me to do anything. I have done nothing wrong."

"We'll let the court decide that." the other man answered. They both took two steps forward, trying to grab Dustfinger with outstretched hands, but Dustfinger jumped back. Meanwhile my teacher had put an arm around me, trying to pull me away, but I fought her, trying to see what happened to the love of my life.

"Dustfinger!" I yelled, at the top of my lungs. "Don't! Leave him alone!" Tears were running down my face as Dustfinger looked at me one last time.

"I love you princess." he said, and then he ran. He policemen followed him, chasing him as fast as they could. It was silent... and then suddenly a loud bang.

A gunshot.

My world vanished around me. It all went black.

When I woke up I stared at a white ceiling. I blinked twice, and then quickly got up. I looked for Dustfinger, but he wasn't there. Instead Mo, Alice and Mom sat at my bed.

"Where is he?" was my first question. It was all I needed to know. Where was he?

"Meggie..." Alice started, and then broke out into tears. I gulped.

"...He didn't make it Meggie. The policeman shot him... to stop him but he missed... well... hit something he didn't want to hit." Mo said, closing his eyes.

My world went cold.

"He died?" I asked quietly.

"...Yes. He's gone Meggie." Mom took my hand, pressing it in hers. I blinked.

He was gone.

Dead.

Lost forever.

I didn't notice the tears on my face until one drop of the salty fluid reached the corner of my mouth, so I could taste the salt.

Dead. _Dead._

The word kept repeating itself in my head.

_Dead._

I would never see him again. Never kiss him again. Never marry him. Never have his children. My whole life came crushing down, and there was nothing I could do but weep. And I did.

Three days I spent in my room, weeping, slowly dying on the inside. I couldn't take his loss, but I had to. It was like suffering so bad you were about to die, but you never did. The pain never stopped. Whether I was awake or asleep. It made no difference. I was always in pain.

My family had a small ceremony for him, with a closed casket, because I couldn't stand seeing his cold, dead body.

We played his favorite song, or at least what I thought was the song he liked most, because he had asked me to play it a second time once. When I had to pick one out, I suddenly realized how little I knew about him. It had made me cry.

_Find Me Here  
Speak To Me  
I want to feel you  
I need to hear you  
You are the light  
That's leading me  
To the place  
where I find peace, again. _

We carried the casket to the graveyard, and I watched Alice, Mo, Elinor, Darius and my Mom place a flower on it.

_You are the strength, that keeps me walking.  
You are the hope, that keeps me trusting.  
You are the light, to my soul.  
You are my purpose, you're everything. _

I walked up to the piece of wood that now held his body. I touched it lightly, just with my fingertips, as I laid the white rose on it. Then I just stood there, staring at it.

_And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?  
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this? _

I couldn't understand how they could bury him like this. He was a creature of the woods, always would be. He should have been buried somewhere close to the woods, make somewhere where there was water... somewhere he could rest in peace. But not like this.

_And How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?  
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?  
And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?  
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?_

I started crying again, falling to my knees. My man would now be put to peace, but I knew he never would be at peace. If there really was a life after death, then he would be just as full of sorrow as I was. In pain just as much as I was.

_Cause you're all I want, you're all I need  
You're everything, everything  
You're all I want, you're all I need  
You're everything, everything.  
You're all I want, you're all I need.  
You're everything, everything  
You're all I want, you're all I need.  
You're everything, everything. _

The song made it even worse. All the memories I had with him came back to me, in one big rush, as if my heart was trying to tear itself apart, so it could finally stop beating. So it could stop the pain. I felt my father picking me up, carrying me away, but I started to scream. I didn't want to leave him, didn't want to leave him behind.

_And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?  
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?  
And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?  
Would you tell me how could it be any better, any better than this. _

Mo sat me down in the car, Alice held on to me so I didn't run back. Why didn't they understand? We belonged together. We couldn't be apart. But now, we would be apart forever. I couldn't stop crying, and Alice cried too. And so we sat there, driving home, crying. Me for my lost love, she for her best friend's pain.

_And How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?  
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?_

The song echoed in my head, over and over again. Even after week's, even month's past I could only listen to this one song. It brought back everything.

His smell, his warmth, his voice, his smile...

How he kissed me.

Touched me.

Loved me.

_Would you tell me how could it be any better than this? _

**The End...?**


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry for not writing for such a long time, but it took some time to figure out how I would end the story for good. But finally, I have found an ending that I think all of us will be satisfied with. _

_Have fun reading._

As I sat in my room, two pieces of paper in front of me, I re-thought the choice I had made. Was this _really_ what I wanted? Was it worth it?

But there was no doubt in my mind. This was what I wanted. This was how it had to be. And even though it was sad, it was the only way for me.

The cool metal of the pen in my hand felt good against my hot skin, as I started to write slowly, thoughtfully, trying hard to find exactly the right words that I needed to make my dream come true.

I stopped for a second, and thought about what would happen to my family, my friends.

Mo would be devastated, I didn't even want to think about my mother. Alice would miss me a lot, she would cry, and ask herself why I did what I was about to do. I could feel tears in my eyes, but I was not about to cry. This decision was going to make me the happiest woman in the world.

Word after word appeared on the paper in front of me, and once I was happy with what I read, I put it down and took the other piece, filling it with words as well. This letter took longer, needed more attention, more care. It took me almost 2 hours. The moonlight filled the room as, finally, after a long time, I was done. About to do what I had been planning for so long.

I stood, the wood under my feet creaking, as if it was speaking to me, whispering words I could not understand. The second paper was placed on my desk, a spot I was sure my family would find it. It was a miserable try of making them understand why I was doing this, why I was leaving. I wasn't sure if the words would make them feel what I wanted them too, but I knew I could not have written it any better. It would have to be good enough.

I glanced at the paper that was still on my bed. This was the last chance to change my mind, to take both papers and throw them away, as if nothing had ever happened. As If I had never thought about it. But if I did, I would never be happy again, in my entire life. This had to be done.

The cushions on my bed felt soft and comfortable against my skin, and I knew, I probably wouldn't have something like this where I was going. But it didn't matter. I was going to gain something a lot better. Something more important. Something perfect.

A deep breath, a last look at my room, a silent goodbye. And then I started reading.

_She felt how her heart bleed as she missed him, every day, every hour, every minute of the year that passed. She knew she could not go on this way. Her life was hollow, sad and broken, and she did not want to let her life end like this._

_So she sat, and she took her paper and her pen, and she wrote, and she didn't stop until she was sure the words would bring her back to the man she loved more then anyone else in the entire world. The man she had lost over a lie._

_As the words spilled from her lips, her eyes filled with tears, she felt her body lighten, her spirit feel released. The walls around her, keeping her caught inside them, disappeared, finally giving her free._

_Everything went white, and she closed her eyes, feeling the warmth enclose her. The happiness arose in her, and it felt like the first few sunrays on her skin after a long, cold winter. _

_And when she opened her eyes, soft, green fields of grass surrounded her. The sky was as blue as she had ever seen it, and the sun was warmer then she had ever felt it._

"So you finally made it." A voice called. I opened my eyes, surrounded by exactly what I had written. And then, I saw him. He smiled, his eyes so bright, his skin tanned. He had the same crooked smile I remembered. "I had been wondering why you took so long. I've been waiting."

I smiled, as he reached out his hand to me and I took it, my skin tingling like the first time he touched me. Tears ran down my cheeks, tears of joy after I finally won back the love of my life. After such a long time, I once again could feel him against me, his warmth, his voice, his smell. It was all to perfect to be true.

"I got here as fast as I could." I answered, hugging him tight, tilting my head up to see into his beautiful face, my fingertips trailing along his scars. He kissed my fingertips, a soft shiver running through my body.

"I know you did, princess. And I am happy you are finally with me. I have missed you dearly. I love you." He whispered, kissing the top of my head.

"I love you too." I answered, closing my eyes and enjoying every second I spent with him, knowing I would be with him for the rest of my life. That I would never have to be apart from him again. That none of us would ever have to be in so much pain ever again.

My fingers tangled into his hair, as I pulled him down carefully, my eyes searching his before I pressed my lips against his ever so softly. Nothing in my life had ever felt so good, and tasted so sweet like this kiss.

He took my hand, walking away and pulling me after him, as we walked into a bright light together, before everything went dark.

**The End.**

_So, I hope everyone liked the chapter, even though it is short. This is the end of this fanfiction, and I will not write a follow up or anything like that. _

_I hope you enjoy this story anyway, and hope that you will check out my other fanfictions, and maybe comment._


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